By Brenden Nel.
After four consecutive defeats in the Currie Cup, including last weekend against the Novavit Griffin Welkom, the Blue Bulls Company has asked rookie coach Edgar Marutlulle to take a step back and return to working with the junior rugby players in the union.
The bold move, which will bring up more questions than answers, will see Director of Rugby Jake White retake the reigns of the Currie Cup team while simultaneously coaching the Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The optics of the move aren’t great, especially as Marutlulle was being groomed as a future head coach for the Bulls and to remove him after four games instead of backing him will raise a lot of questions.
But it also underlines just how desperate the situation at Loftus Versfeld has become where between the three competitions the Bulls take part in they are now on a 10-game losing streak.
The Bulls looked to give Marutlulle the chance with two very experienced assistant coaches alongside him in Gert Smal and Sean Everitt, but despite this the team still underperformed.
Small is a former Springbok and Ireland assistant coach and Everitt was the Cell C Sharks head coach until recently.
And while the Blue Bulls Company call it “adjustments”, the look is not good at a time when SA Rugby are looking to fast-track coaches.
“The Blue Bulls Company (BBCo.) has announced adjustments to its Currie Cup coaching structures for the remainder of the season. The changes come after Edgar Marutlulle and Director of Rugby, Jake White met and agreed that the best course of action was to allow Marutlulle to step back and resume his work in Junior rugby,” the statement read.
“White will assume head coaching responsibilities of the Currie Cup team while assistant coaches, Gert Smal, Hugo van As and Sean Everitt will remain in their current roles until the end of their short-term contracts.
“Now that the franchise is out of the Champions Cup competition, White’s time has been freed up to assume the Currie Cup reigns too.”
White “commended Marutlulle’s willingness to be part of the solution in helping the franchise turn its season around.”
“I met with Edgar and he felt that there needed to be action taken, with the union coming first. A perspective that we both share and something I commend him on.
“It is important that our coaches continue to feel as though there is a pathway. Sometimes we will get successes and sometimes we must take a step back and be proactive, and as a union we are doing exactly that.
“I will take over, working with the new coaches. We will find a way, in and around the senior coaches, to make sure that we get our campaign back on track.”
Marutlulle thanked the organisation for the opportunity to further his skills and welcomed the decision as having the best interests of the organisation at large.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to have been given the privilege of leading this Currie Cup side. As a former player and now coach, I am and will always be a custodian of this great franchise and I believe that this is what is necessary for us to move forward.”
BBCo. Chief Executive, Edgar Rathbone reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting and equipping Marutlulle with all the necessary skills to see him become a world-class coach. “This is part of the ongoing review of the current structures we have at Loftus and should not be viewed as an isolated incident,” Rathbone said.
“Our long-term plan for Edgar remains unchanged. He has done well with the juniors, earning the trust and reputation of everyone in the sport. We want to see him continue to develop and grow, and part of that process is ensuring that he has all the right support and time to be able to produce the ideal results.”
“He also returns his whole attention to the juniors as they get ready to start a new campaign in the SA Rugby competition ranks, looking to repeat the success they brought our franchise last season once more.”
The changes will be implemented with immediate effect.