Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White admitted he will not be able to call on his newly-appointed captains until the new year.
The Bulls confirmed on Friday that Springbok duo Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw will act as co-captains for the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship and European Cup season.
However, both are currently on duty with the Bok squad in Nelspruit – where they are preparing to face Argentina in a decisive Rugby Championship match on Saturday.
They are also likely to be rested before the year-end tour in November, when South Africa faces Scotland, England and Wales.
White said that is the ‘lay of the land’ and he will live with that.
“I am really happy the Bulls are being selected [for the Springboks],” he told @rugby365com, adding: “I am happy the local [South African-based] players are being selected.
“I look at a player like Ruan Nortje. He would not have played for the Boks if he left this club [franchise] a year ago and moved abroad.”
Not only did Nortje become a Springbok by staying around, but he is now a key member of the Bok squad.
“I would much rather have our players being selected for the Boks, while playing in South Africa, than players getting frustrated because they are not getting a chance and foreign-based players are keeping them out.”
Returning to the ‘unavailability’ of his captains, White said it is something he will have to deal with.
“It is a much easier and more satisfactory situation for me to be in, as opposed to having players here who feel they could never play for the national team.”
White also pointed out that when he appointed Nortje captain the first time the decision was questioned, as was it when he named Louw as skipper last year.
He is now moving towards a situation he had when he coached the Springboks between 2004 and the World Cup win in 2007 – with franchise captains like Juan Smith, Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger.
That ensured every key position was covered by a franchise captain – giving him a powerful leadership core.
“I won’t have all these captains now, but once I get them all on the field together, it will be nice to have all that experience in one squad.
“We’ll have guys who captained in different formats.
“When they are all on the field, it can only make us stronger.
“One of the lessons I learnt with the Springboks – the more leaders you have, the more people who understand pressure, the more people that are comfortable communicating the stronger your team become.
“It [absence of captains] is something we need to work through, but it is not a problem that we can’t overcome.”
Nortje and Louw will rejoin the Bulls for a brief spell ahead of Round Three of the new United Rugby Championship campaign.
(WATCH as Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White explains why he named Springbok duo Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw as co-captains, despite them being unlikely to be available before the new year….)
“We are in a good space as a franchise where we have a good balance of diverse leadership qualities amongst the players in our group,” White said.
“We have seen great leadership capabilities in both Ruan and Elrigh last season, which we are excited to see heading into the new season.
“The two of them will form a dynamic partnership as co-captains which will do our environment well.”
White said they are not discarding veteran Bok Marcell Coetzee as a leader.
“Marcell has been a phenomenal captain over the past few seasons,” the Bulls boss said.
“He has embodied the values of the badge, leading from the front in all spheres and we expect to see him continue to lead and mentor the younger guys because he is still an important part of our team.
“So the appointment of different leaders is not an indictment on him but the team’s succession strategy which is normal in professional sport.”
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