Cape Town – I can understand why the Blue Bulls Company announced yesterday that Jake White should coach the Currie Cup side going forward and let Edgar Marutlulle go back to the junior teams.
But was it the right decision?
The Pretoria side are on a 10-match losing run across all competitions – four URC, four Currie Cup and two Champions Cup, the latest being last Sunday’s 33-9 defeat to Toulouse in France.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the franchise bosses took action following the intense criticism from their fans on social media over the last few weeks.
Blue Bulls Rugby Union president Willem Strauss said in a WhatsApp broadcast message on Tuesday that the losses to the Pumas and Griffons “were horrible and inexcusable” and that “being critical is justified, but not when it’s personal and vindictive. I’m sure all of us have experienced setbacks in life… it’s how you bounce back that’s important.
“Being challenged in life is inevitable; being defeated is optional.”
He added that the Bulls would get behind the team and coaches – but a day later, Marutlulle was demoted.
With this coaching move, the franchise clearly regards the Currie Cup as their best chance of winning any silverware this season. They are out of the Champions Cup, while their United Rugby Championship playoff hopes are dependent on beating Zebre on April 15 (at Ellis Park, in a double-header with the Lions), and what should be a weakened Leinster team at Loftus Versfeld on April 22.
Considering their recent form, winning both games is a big ask, even in South Africa.
So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if White announces a full-strength team today for tomorrow’s Currie Cup clash against Griquas at Loftus Versfeld (5pm kickoff).
Yes, it might be a tall order for the players who had to travel back from France on Monday and may only have arrived in Pretoria on Tuesday, but they are well in tune with each other and won’t need much training time to get ready to beat Griquas.
The Bulls just need to win a game again, and then they will have eight days to recuperate and prepare adequately for the Zebre clash.
White did the same thing ahead of the recent Ulster encounter in Belfast when he selected a full-strength Bulls side for a Currie Cup game against Western Province, which they lost 41-33 at Loftus.
So, coming back to Marutlulle – why not just keep him on as part of the senior coaching team for the Currie Cup? He was the forwards coach last season when Gert Smal was in charge and the Bulls reached the semi-finals, where they lost to Griquas incidentally at Loftus as well.
He has done the hard yards at junior level already, having guided the Under-19s to the national title last season as the head coach, while he was also an assistant coach of the champion Under-21 side.
Marutlulle was announced as the Currie Cup head coach in March – at the age of 35 – with much fanfare, as he is a product of the Bulls coaching system since his recent playing days were disrupted by injury.
It is also a feather in the cap of the Bulls’ transformation objectives that a black African mentor in Marutlulle was appointed as a Currie Cup head coach – with the Lions having Mziwakhe Nkosi and the Sharks Joey Mongalo in the same position.
Being exposed to senior rugby and working alongside wise old heads such as his assistants Smal, former Sharks boss Sean Everitt and former Lions coach Hugo van As would only have benefited Marutlulle’s progress.
Bringing in White to call the Currie Cup shots is not necessarily a problem in the current circumstances the Bulls find themselves in – but sending Marutlulle back to the juniors isn’t the best way forward either.
What’s going to happen when both teams play on the same weekend? That’s going to happen next week, as the Currie Cup side will face the Sharks in Durban on Friday, April 14, while the URC team take on Zebre at Ellis Park the following day.
On April 22, both teams will play at Loftus Versfeld, with the URC team in action first against Leinster, followed by the Currie Cup game against the Lions.
Surely White won’t handle all those Currie Cup games too?
The former Springbok coach is set to provide more insight to the coaching set-up when he hosts a team announcement press conference today ahead of the Griquas game.
@ashfakmohamed