Cape Town – Did Jake White get it wrong to keep his best Bulls players in cotton wool, or was John Dobson’s choice to choose his Stormers A team most weeks pay off on Friday night?
On the face of it, the 37-27 victory for the Cape side would mean that the home side got it right, but it is not as straight-forward as that.
To recap, White opted to pick his fringe players – essentially a ‘B team’ – for the two Champions Cup games against Lyon and Exeter Chiefs, and the Pretoria side won 42-36 at Loftus Versfeld and lost 44-14 at Sandy Park.
He kept his first-choice side under wraps to prepare for Friday night’s United Rugby Championship clash at Cape Town Stadium, but the Bulls lost anyway.
The Stormers, though, mixed and matched their combinations in the early rounds of the URC, blending the top players with youngsters, but then Dobson selected his best team for the two Champions Cup games against Clermont and London Irish, where they lost 24-14 in France, and won 34-14 in Cape Town.
Steven Kitshoff’s team certainly seemed sharper on Friday night, and their physicality and execution on attack got the better of a Bulls side that never really got going, and made errors and wrong decisions with ball-in-hand and in defence.
“I don’t know (which policy was better). I said in the week, where we stand will actually be judged in June. Those two weeks of rest may pay off for them later – I really don’t know. We wanted to get through today and get a win, and that’s what we got. But I think the squad management thinking is all around April, May,” Dobson said.
“I think it’s a really big honour for us that they clearly invested so much in this game, by resting those guys and obviously we spoke in the week about putting eggs in this basket.
“So we knew they were really coming for us, as they prepped and travelled and chose their Champions Cup team for this game, which is a massive compliment for us – to try to get some sort of revenge or put the URC final to bed.
“And for us to win more convincingly is fantastic for us. The fact that they showed us so much respect is great for Stormers rugby. We are back on the top table. The Bulls need to rest players and focus so much on this game is fantastic for us, and to get the win like we did is a good feeling.”
White felt it was worth the gamble to rest his best players despite the defeat, as there is still a long season ahead for the Bulls.
“We got five points in the Champions Cup and the Stormers also got five points, so at this point in time, it worked,” he said.
“The decision of rotating the players has got nothing to do about today – it’s got to do with what’s coming in June. John Dobson doesn’t coach Currie Cup… I am the director of rugby, so I’ve got to coach and make sure all the juniors and seniors and Currie Cup guys are available to play.
“If I was only coaching the senior side, then I wouldn’t worry about who’s available for the Currie Cup, because it’s not my brief. So, I think it’s important for people to understand that my brief as director of rugby is to make sure that the juniors, Under-19s, Under-21s and the Currie Cup (have enough players).
“Province didn’t make the playoffs of the Currie Cup last year, and those are decisions I have to make to my board… So, 32 games left, and it is incredible to think that they are going to play Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday in the Currie Cup – it’s a hell of a difficult ask.
“And considering that some of the Boks are going to be withdrawn for World Cup camps and all that stuff, you are going to have to box very clever about how many players you are going to use.”
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