Ruan Nortje with referee: Marius van der Westhuizen and Siya Kolisi. (Photo Mandatory Credit Steve Haag/Gallo Images)
- The Bulls were reminded of the value of an experienced captain in their loss to the Sharks.
- While Siya Kolisi and company were open about the deal with referee Marius van der Westhuizen, the Bulls were perhaps too quiet.
- And as Jake White admits, those nuances really do matter in the modern game.
A grizzled pattern really makes a difference.
That’s the harsh and frustrating lesson the Bulls were reminded of after a humiliating 47-20 loss to a crafty Sharks side in Saturday’s New Year’s URC derby at Kings Park.
On a night where referee Marius van der Westhuizen once again wowed with his officiating, it was noted how the Sharks leadership body, led by Siya Kolisi, turned the tide of a iffy start by not just rolling up their socks, but also by becoming clearly vocal in her communication with him.
By contrast, rookie Bulls captain Ruan Nortje and his young lieutenants have yet to find their proverbial voice in this regard.
If the “talks” of Kolisi and company go against the spirit of what arbitration really should be, it is irrelevant, it is a reality.
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“You saw it. I didn’t say it. But that’s how it works,” said Jake White, the Bulls’ director of rugby.
“We probably had the brush of the green when Duane Vermeulen captained our team when we won two titles a few years ago. That’s what happens. You have an older, wiser and perhaps even more respected captain within your ranks and then you start getting one or two calls that would go against you all of a sudden”.
With Marcell Coetzee currently on sabbatical in Japan, White has decided to use his temporary absence as an opportunity to cultivate a leadership group that in a few years could possess the same street smarts as Kolisi and Vermeulen.
But there will be “painful” experiences along the way.
“It’s part of the learning process. You can’t go fast, it’s not like my players will wake up tomorrow morning and be much older. There has to be time on the clock. It’s painful to go through this, but I’m confident we’ll do it. This is a great group of players who work very hard and also take it very hard when they lose like that,” White said.
Regardless of how much the man played with his own interpretation of the whistle, the Bulls mentor admitted that the Bulls’ 20-penalty count was a huge handicap.
“Sometimes you have to give credit, [Durban] it’s a tough place to play. Once the Sharks play their power play, get into the 22 and use their forwards, they can score against anyone.
“It was hard for us to stop them, even harder to stop them with 13 men on the field. We fought bravely but we can’t make things up, it won’t be any easier, but we have to make sure we get it right.” .”
Nor did White, at least publicly, express any grievances with Van der Westhuizen.
“The referee referred very well. He was very clear in what he allowed and what he did not allow.”
