Wilco Louw Prop Wilco Louw (right) will be primed to put the Bulls on the front foot against Bayonne. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
It has been a tough balancing act for Jake White this week ahead of the Bulls’ Challenge Cup last-16 playoff against Bayonne on Saturday (1.30pm start).
While he may not say it out loud, White would regard as the United Rugby Championship as the preferred title to the Challenge Cup.
In that regard, the URC encounters against Munster in Limerick and Glasgow in Scotland on April 18 and 25 loom large for the Pretoria side if they hope to finish in the top two.
But at the same time, you never want to miss out on a trophy, and the Challenge Cup would provide some much-needed European silverware for the Loftus Versfeld cabinet.
The tricky part, though, is that if they beat Bayonne at the Stade Jean Dauger on Saturday, they will face Edinburgh, who beat the Lions 24-12 on Friday night.
If the Lions had to win, the Bulls would have had to travel back home for a Loftus encounter next weekend – but at least now they’ll stay up north as Edinburgh emerged victorious.
So, considering all those conundrums before the Lions-Edinburgh game, White was still able to select a strong match-23 on Friday.
The bench that boasts figures such as Ruan Nortjé, Cameron Hanekom, Embrose Papier and the fit-again Johan Goosen, who would start for most teams.
At least the Bulls now know what’s happening with their travels next week before the Bayonne kickoff.
“It’s a well-balanced team. Guys are coming back from injury, and I’ve got to manage them,” White said on Friday.
“There are guys who will be important for us at the back-end of the competition, so I can’t chuck all my eggs in one basket.
“I can’t go hammer and tongs into one game, and I have to find a balance.
“If you look at this team and the bench, and who they can come on for and how they can change the game, it’s not a bad 15 that we can finish off with.”
One of those key starting forwards will be Reinhardt Ludwig, who returns at No 4 lock instead of his usual blindside flank spot.
Ludwig has said he prefers playing in the second row as he’s got more experience there, and White is confident that he can help the visitors front up to what is likely to be a hostile cauldron in Bayonne.
“JF (van Heerden) has settled himself into calling the lineouts and playing at five. When Ruan Nortjé is on the field, that’s probably when one of the other players will have to slot in (at four lock),” he said.
“They are a very good French team. They are not number four (in the French Top 14) for nothing – they have a good defence, set-piece is strong.
“I spoke to Shaun Sowerby (former Sharks No 8) yesterday, and he is coaching at Bordeaux and lives in Biarritz – right around the corner from Bayonne.
“He said to me that Bayonne’s centre combination would be ranked as probably the best in the competition as well.
“So, as good as their forwards are, as you say, to have centres as good as they do, they are a good team all round.”
But there is no doubt that the Bulls have the firepower in the pack and backline to get past Bayonne.
The back division is exactly the same from the one that started in the nine-try 63-24 thrashing of Zebre last week, where flyhalf Keagan Johannes was excellent in calling the shots in a Player-of-the-Match display.
But there are some proper reinforcements upfront, starting with the powerful Wilco Louw at tighthead prop, Akker van der Merwe at hooker and Marco van Staden at openside flank.
“Playing away in France is tough. For some unknown reason, when they play at home, they find another gear,” White said.
“Home crowds and home wins are massive for them, for any team – they put a premium on winning at home.
“They haven’t lost at home this year and have played some big games. It’s a wonderful experience, and they sing a well-known song before.
“The atmosphere is incredible – it will be sold out. It’s really a wonderful experience for these young players who are coming here for the first time.
“Hopefully we will do it justice by playing as well as we can.”
Bulls Team
15 Devon Williams 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 David Kriel 12 Harold Vorster 11 Stravino Jacobs 10 Keagan Johannes 9 Zak Burger 8 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 7 Jannes Kirsten 6 Marco van Staden 5 JF van Heerden 4 Reinhardt Ludwig 3 Wilco Louw 2 Akker van der Merwe 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Mornay Smith 19 Ruan Nortjé 20 Cameron Hanekom 21 Embrose Papier 22 Johan Goosen 23 Stedman Gans.
Bayonne: 15 Cheikh Tiberghien 14 Nadir Megdoud 13 Arnaud Erbinartegaray 12 Federico Mori 11 Xan Mousques 10 Tom Spring 9 Baptiste Germain 8 Giovanni Habel-Kuffner (captain) 7 Remi Bourdeau 6 Noa Traversier 5 Alex Moon 4 Veikoso Poloniati 3 Tevita Tatafu 2 Lucas Martin 1 Pierre Castillon.
Bench: 16 Vincent Giudicelli 17 Martin Villar 18 Pieter Scholtz 19 Denis Marchois 20 Lucas Paulos 21 Baptiste Chouzenoux 22 Baptiste Tilloles 23 Aurelien Callandret.