It was another big call to leave Willie le Roux at flyhalf, but Bulls coach Jake White is confident that the Springbok veteran will be much better in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions in Pretoria (2pm kick-off).
White decided to retain regular Bok fullback Le Roux at No 10 for the third match in a row, despite a mixed output in the last two games against the Stormers and Sharks.
The 35-year-old, who has 98 Tests to his name, last played as a specialist flyhalf during his early provincial years at Boland – and at stages for Japanese club Toyota Verblitz.
So, getting more time in the saddle to call the shots is one of the reasons White is fielding Le Roux in partnership with scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who could also do with a breather after starting most of the Bulls games this season.
“We’ve lost Marcell (Coetzee), Elrigh (Louw) and Ruan (Nortjé), and then I took Willie off (in the 29-19 loss to the Sharks)... The doc said he is battling with his groin,” White said on Friday.
“I thought I can’t take a risk with Willie, and I thought with Boeta, we had enough to win the game.
“But it was an interesting game, and if we had to play it again from 50 minutes and 12-10 up, with 12 guys, we would win that game 10 out of 10.
“Willie is again at 10, and one thing I’ve learnt in rugby is that you can’t change your 10 every time. When I coached the Boks, one thing I learnt is that you need to have an established 10.
“Willie is at 10 again, and it’s the third game in a row, with the same nine. It can only be better.
“I probably erred because I took Willie off too early. Maybe I should’ve left Willie on.
“But then all of you look at me and say, ‘But Willie played 40 minutes, as he was in the bin for 10, and in the first 30 of those minutes, we were in our half of the field for 80 percent of the time’.
“Now, I haven’t met too many 10s who have been able to defend on their trylines, and still win Man of the Matches in the time that I’ve coached.”
Papier has been outstanding for the Bulls, which earned up a call-up to the Springbok alignment camp in March.
But despite his heavy workload, which led to him not being at his usual sharpness against the Sharks, White feels that Papier can aid Le Roux’s growth as a flyhalf.
The Bulls boss has also made a change on the bench, with Keagan Johannes the reserve pivot against the Lions.
“(Embrose) probably (is fatigued). He’s just got picked into the Springbok set-up, he had his 100th game and his wife came out with him. I also don’t want to be unfair to Willie to play with a different nine as well,” White said.
“He (Papier) didn’t play his best game, but all those things combined... Sometimes people handle it differently.
“Keagan will cover 10, because the reason is that he played really well against Benetton that time, almost an international team at very short notice.”
The other changes made by White on Friday saw Sebastian de Klerk come in at right wing and Canan Moodie moving to the left, Stedman Gans starting at outside centre, Mpilo Gumede at No 8 – with Cameron Hanekom nursing a calf issue – Cobus Wiese at No 4 lock and Gerhard Steenekamp at loosehead prop.
Bulls Team
15 Devon Williams 14 Sebastian de Klerk 13 Stedman Gans 12 David Kriel 11 Canan Moodie 10 Willie le Roux 9 Embrose Papier 8 Mpilo Gumede 7 Reinhardt Ludwig (captain) 6 Marco van Staden 5 JF van Heerden 4 Cobus Wiese 3 Wilco Louw 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Francois Klopper 19 Ruan Vermaak 20 Nizaam Carr 21 Zak Burger 22 Keagan Johannes 23 Sergeal Petersen.