— Cape Town The Bulls committed a bunch of unforced errors on offense, but head coach Jake White does not want his squad to retreat into their shells as a result.
White believed that the Bulls left some points on the field in their 31-15 United Rugby Championship victory over the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, but he was pleased that his team continued to probe the Lions’ defense in an attempt to break through.
The clearest illustration of their strategy was the try scored by No. 14 Cornal Hendricks, which was initiated by a counterattack in their own goal area and concluded with the No. 14 diving over in the right corner.
In their quest of the championship, White and the Bulls’ primary objective this season will be to preserve the football.
Wandisile Simelane and Sbu Nkosi were making their debuts for the Bulls in the backcourt, so everyone was not always on the same wavelength in terms of decision-making and execution.
“Over time, the capacity to convert pressure into points will improve. Frequently, we had line-breaks, followed by a pass into touch or an offload before we had to… We went into the midfield a few times when we might have avoided it,” White said.
“I believe our players will be adequate as we continue to build these images in high-pressure circumstances. It’s the first time we’ve played with that backline, and the different combinations were deliberate.
“I am aware of where Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie can play, as well as where (Johan) Goosen can play… I must attempt to assemble a backline that can adapt to varied positions. This will develop over time; it will not be cohesive on day one.”
After bringing the ball through a number of phases, the Lions were rewarded with a try by their center Marius Louw, who was aided by their offloading game, which allowed them to maintain solid offensive continuity.
But White was delighted with his team’s defensive structure, in which they did not commit an excessive number of players to the breakdown and attempted to double-tackle the Lions ball-carriers.
“I was quite pleased with the way we defended and the structure of our defense. Frequently, we put them under pressure by attacking them in large numbers, as he explained.
“They knocked a few balls on as a result of defensive pressure caused by the visual images they were receiving.
“I believe that the way we changed our defense – and I won’t get into too much detail about that – altered portions of the field and portions of our game, which also placed them under pressure.”
But what drives White is his desire of brilliance in attack. Scrumhalf Embrose Papier contributed vitality from the base, flyhalf Chris Smith was as dependable as usual, while workhorses Hendricks and Lionel Mapoe never stopped running.
White will be eager to see fullback Simelane and wing Nkosi come into their own over the next few weeks, as they are devastating strike-runners when working in tandem with the rest of the backline – beginning with Saturday’s match at Loftus Versfeld against Edinburgh (2.30pm kick-off).
“You always want the perfect attacking game,” the former Springbok coach remarked. “I thought we started off extremely well, and our backs appeared to have sufficient cohesiveness.”
“As the game progressed, at one point in the second half of the first half, we conceded six penalties in eight minutes, which causes pressure. Many of those penalties were the result of excessive play in our own half.
“However, despite this, I do not want us to kick the ball down the field. I want us to be confident that we can keep possession of the ball, and I want us to be able to outwork our opponents in the first half of the game to earn rewards in the second half.
“One thing I learned from Leinster is that they don’t always open you up early, but going and going and going and going is what generates anxiety towards the conclusion of the game.
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