There may have been a lot of rust still in the Vodacom Bulls opening win over the Emirates Lions on Saturday, but not enough to concern their coach Jake White.
White was smiling after the team’s win over their neighbours in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and especially because of the way the team played on attack.
The try to Cornal Hendricks, which started behind the Bulls own tryline was a case in point. And it underlines just how much confidence the team currently have on attack.
It would be unfathomable to see that sort of confidence in Bulls sides in the past, where they would rather have kicked the ball for touch than go for the big play and run from behind their goalline.
And given the Bulls were the team that scored the second most tries in the competition last season, it is understandable that they want to continue in the same vein and attract fans back to Loftus Versfeld with entertaining rugby and plenty of tries.
“It is a build on from last year, we scored lots of tries from last year and I don’t want to go away from that,” White said when quizzed on Hendricks’ try and the confidence behind it.
“I say to them at halftime we are playing too much rugby in our own half, but I know the holes are going to open. Had those passes stuck two or three times, then you haven’t played too much rugby in your own half, you played clever rugby.
“It is one of those. I’m happy we’ve got a win, the momentum has started and we have a home game next week. Hopefully Loftus will be full, and then we can get better and better.”
The Bulls rolled the dice a bit in the pre-season, deciding to give their players six weeks off rather than start the pre-season early and have spoken before about how they may be a bit underdone at the start. But that, they feel, will bring rewards at the end of the season.
The same way that shifting players around in the backline is a long-terms strategy, the Bulls will know they may not be gifted the same chances the Lions did against better sides, but they believe that over time the cohesion will return and the team will become more deadly on attack.
“We probably left a couple of points out there, but I enjoyed the way we showed composure. At 15-3 up we thought we could probably let our hair down and have a go at them, but then suddenly at 15-all they fought back. The way we showed composure and the reserves came on and became cohesive, so I think we won in those areas,” White said about the 31-15 victory.
“Over time it will come right, just the ability to transfer pressure into points. Often we had line breaks and then we passed into touch, or one offload before we had to or a couple of times we ran into the midfield where we could go around them. In time, when we create those pictures more and more in pressure situations, I feel our players will be good enough.
“It is the first time we played that backline and purposely so. I know where Kurt-Lee (Arendse) can play, I know where Canan (Moodie) can play, I know where (Johan) Goosen can play – I need to try and get a backline in play that is adaptable.
“That will come in time, but obviously it won’t be as cohesive from day one.”
White said that adaptability would be key as the team navigates the Currie Cup, URC and European Cup this season, which will require all members of the squad to play their part. With that in mind, he was pleased with the performance of utility forward Ruan Vermaak on Saturday, where he slotted in at the side of the scrum.
“I want to try different combinations and see what comes up. There is no way we can play the same seven backs and eight forwards in every game. I’m quite keen to see Ruan play seven – he played 8 for the Lions. It is nice to see he can play four lock, or seven or eight because the more adaptable our team is the better it is for us going forward.”
For now, the experimentation will continue and the Bulls believe while they are winning, the confidence will grow.
They know it is a long season and they believe their strategy will pay dividends – perhaps not in the beginning but when the competition reaches the business end.