MARK KEOHANE praises Jake White and the Vodacom Bulls for providing Jan-Hendrik Wessels with the ideal environment to hone his craft as a front-row Swiss Army knife.
The 23-year-old Wessels played a key role in the Bulls’ win against defending URC champions Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday night.
“He’s just been nicknamed Os du Randt,” White said post-match of Wessels, who has starred at loosehead prop and hooker this season. “I don’t know what the reason is but it’s reminiscent of the days when I was lucky enough to coach Os.”
Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane suggests Wessels, also named Man of the Match against Glasgow, combines powerful set-piece work with remarkable athleticism reminiscent of Springbok legend Frik du Preez.
He highlights White’s patient approach as key to Wessels’ growth. Rather than rushing his development, the Bulls gradually increased his responsibilities – from brief hooker cameos in his 2021-22 debut season (averaging 15 minutes across five matches) to his current versatile role averaging 40 minutes per appearance.
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This calculated progression, Keohane notes, avoided the pitfall of throwing talented youngsters into the “dark arts” of front-row play prematurely. Instead, White’s technical nurturing allowed Wessels to develop in both positions, starting just 13 of his 44 Bulls appearances while steadily increasing his game time.
Keohane sees the three-Test Wessels, who turns 24 in May, as a natural successor in South Africa’s front-row dynasty following players like Steven Kitshoff and Ox Nche.
“Jan-Hendrik Wessels is the greatest example of how to manage a supreme talent when it comes to front-rowers and hookers,” he writes.
“Wessels, ever since his marauding days at Grey College, was earmarked as special, a Springbok certainty and a player who, fitness permitting, will dominate as a loosehead prop or hooker for the next decade.
“It is at the Bulls where director of rugby Jake White and his coaches have provided Wessels with the near-perfect grooming as a front-rower who doubles as a hooker.”
Photo: Calum Chittleburgh/SNS Group via Getty Images
