By Brenden Nel.
While it is strange that the Vodacom Bulls are without their coach Jake White, who was rushed to hospital earlier this week with a medical emergency, they are adjusting to the interim coaching practices that have been put in place.
White is likely – if all goes well – to be released from hospital on Friday but the Bulls have mandated some rest for him until at least 8 February, meaning he won’t be anywhere near the team for the foreseeable future.
When he missed the game in Wales against the Dragons, it was assistant coach Russell Winter who did the pre-game talk and backline coach Chris Rossouw has taken charge this week.
The coaching team will share the responsibilities, with others – like assistants Nollis Marais and Pine Pienaar also having previous head coaching experience.
With White missing out on the bit of preparation the Bulls had after a long journey in Wales, this arrangement will continue and is not unfamiliar for the players, as captain Ruan Nortje confirmed in a media interview on Tuesday.
“He (Jake) was unwell the whole week, so the other coaches really took charge effectively. We all understand the system that coach Jake has implemented. It was quite easy to adapt to,” Nortje explained.
“It’s never nice not having your head coach around, but in the end his health is the main priority and and we really wish him a speedy recovery.”
Nortje believes the side pulled together in Wales and showed a lot of character in their bonus point win over the Dragons. And he said the calmness in the team made his job as captain a lot easier.
“We really showed great character. There was some pressure on us in terms of results because we definitely let ourselves down and then the withdrawal of Chris Smith and coach Jake’s illness put even more on us,” said Nortje.
“I was really proud of how cool and calm we remained. That result was really massive for us. It wasn’t a perfect performance but we definitely showed some better stuff.
“Our discipline was really improved.”
NORTJE CRITICISM
Nortje copped some criticism, notably from White as well on his leadership against the Sharks where he was outplayed by Siya Kolisi in conversations with the referee, with Nortje preferring a low profile, something that was in stark contrast with the chummy chats Marius van der Westhuizen had with Kolisi and other Sharks players on the night.
But the lock is slowly learning the ropes after being shunted into the role when Marcell Coetzee left for his sabbatical in Japan.
“The biggest thing for me is that I don’t read any articles about me,” Nortje laughed when asked about it.
“I don’t have Facebook. I don’t really read into that stuff and I think that is the best thing for me personally. I know myself much better than anybody else, so I know what I am capable of and I know my teammates believe in me and that is the most important thing.
“It’s all learning. I am obviously still getting used to the captaincy role, but it is something that excites me very much.It’s just about me constantly learning and growing every weekend.
“Sometimes it doesn’t go your way or you get a bit of criticism. It is always going to be part of rugby, so you shouldn’t read too much into that stuff.”
And without White at the helm, Nortje’s role becomes all the more important ahead of the Heineken Champions Cup clash with Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.
And the Bulls will need him to lead them into battle with confidence.