Jake White believes Saturday’s do-or-die showdown for the Vodacom Bulls in Edinburgh suits a fresh Cameron Hanekom “like a glove”.
Hanekom is one of 11 Springboks in the Bulls lineup for their maiden EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final. Speaking during Friday’s team announcement conference, White addressed the young No 8’s potential impact on the artificial surface at Hive Stadium.
“It’s a quick pitch, it’s 4G, it’ll suit him like a glove. I mean, he’s an out-and-out athlete,” the Bulls director of rugby told reporters. “He’s fresh because he hasn’t played much rugby. He came off the bench [last week], then got an HIA and was off for 12 minutes.
“I think people sometimes forget that he’s 21 years old, and playing at this level against the international players every week takes a real bashing on your body.
“The way he plays, it’s an obvious thing that he’s going to get banged, bruised and pick up all these little [bumps] as his body gets stronger, tougher and used to the collisions.
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“He’s fine, in terms of where he is – he wants to play,” White added. “He’s a youngster that always wants to be on the field and that’s not going to change.
“I’ve seen many youngsters like that… They want to be on the field so I’m looking forward to seeing how he plays tomorrow, and hopefully it’ll be an 80-minute performance.”
Hanekom and skipper Ruan Nortje will start after featuring off the bench in last week’s win in Bayonne, while Canan Moodie is set to make his return from a lengthy lay-off as a replacement. The Bok world champion has been sidelined since the start of March.
“[Moodie] got a bit of a scare last time he played; following his HIA he was out longer than initially thought,” White said. “But he’s back now and covers almost all the positions in the backline.
“For the first time in a long time, we’ve got a bit of a settled team after not having got any injuries last week, thank goodness. We could literally keep the same backline and made two changes to the forwards and two Springboks have come in.”
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After the Sharks won the Challenge Cup on debut last season, there’s arguably pressure on the Bulls to keep the trophy in the Republic.
“We’re slowly coming into the backend of these competitions and there’s three games left in the competition – quarter-finals, semi-finals, final,” White said.
“It’s nice to know that you’ve got most of your best players coming back and being part of this group.”
Saturday’s clash features an intriguing coaching sub-plot, with White facing Sean Everitt. The Edinburgh boss previously worked under White at both the Sharks and Bulls, as well as faced each other as rivals.
“I’ve been around too long to worry about other coaches and head-to-head. It’s not going to be about what coaches do, it’s about how teams play,” White said.
“I know Sean and he knows me and that means absolutely nothing for tomorrow’s game in Edinburgh.”
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
