Jake White on Wednesday took over the coaching duties of the Blue Bulls Currie Cup side. Picture: James Crombie, INPHO, Shutterstock, BackpagePix
Cape Town – The Blue Bulls Company took action on Wednesday following a run of 10 successive defeats across all competitions, with director of rugby Jake White now taking over the coaching duties of the Currie Cup team.
Edgar Marutlulle, who was appointed as the head coach at the start of the tournament, will now return to the junior teams, where he attained success last season in guiding the Bulls Under-19 side to the national title.
But it has been a tough baptism of fire for the former hooker in his first season as a senior coach, with the Blue Bulls side losing all three games where he was in charge of the team – 63-15 to the Pumas in Pretoria, 32-7 to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and 32-28 to the Griffons in Welkom.
White picked his URC side and coached the team ahead of the 41-33 loss to Western Province at Loftus Versfeld.
The Blue Bulls Company said in a statement on Wednesday that White and Marutlulle had met and “agreed that the best course of action was to allow Marutlulle to step back and resume his work in junior rugby”, adding that the exit from the Champions Cup after last Sunday’s 33-9 loss to Toulouse in France had meant that “White’s time has been freed up” to take over the Currie Cup side.
Assistant coaches Gert Smal, Sean Everitt and Hugo van As will continue in their posts in supporting White.
“I met with Edgar and he felt that there needed to be action taken, with the union coming first. A perspective that we both share and something I commend him on,” White said.
“It is important that our coaches continue to feel as though there is a pathway. Sometimes we will get successes and sometimes we must take a step back and be proactive, and as a union we are doing exactly that.
“I will take over, working with the new coaches. We will find a way, in and around the senior coaches, to make sure that we get our campaign back on track.”
Marutlulle added: “I am thankful for the opportunity to have been given the privilege of leading this Currie Cup side.
“As a former player and now coach, I am and will always be a custodian of this great franchise, and I believe that this is what is necessary for us to move forward.”
Bulls chief executive Edgar Rathbone said the franchise will continue to assist Marutlulle in his development as a coach.
“This is part of the ongoing review of the current structures we have at Loftus and should not be viewed as an isolated incident,” Rathbone said.
“Our long-term plan for Edgar remains unchanged. He has done well with the juniors, earning the trust and reputation of everyone in the sport.
“We want to see him continue to develop and grow, and part of that process is ensuring that he has all the right support and time to be able to produce the ideal results.
“He also returns his whole attention to the juniors as they get ready to start a new campaign in the SA Rugby competition ranks, looking to repeat the success they brought our franchise last season once more.”
White’s immediate task will be to engineer a victory over Griquas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday (5pm kickoff), with the URC side having a bye this week before tackling Zebre on April 15 at Ellis Park.
Currie Cup action returns to Loftus this Friday 🏆
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) April 4, 2023
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