Cape Town — Bulls director of rugby Jake White insists that moving Edgar Marutlulle back down to the juniors and him taking over the coaching of the Currie Cup team is “not a panic response”, and he is confident that the former hooker can become a successful coach in future.
And with the Pretoria side currently on a 10-match losing streak, White himself says that he is prepared to put away his coaching whistle if the franchise feels he is not the man to turn things around.
After naming a full-strength Blue Bulls side on Thursday for Friday’s Currie Cup clash against Griquas at Loftus Versfeld (5pm kickoff), White was at pains to explain that the decision made on Wednesday to shift Marutlulle from being the head coach back to the junior sides was in everybody’s best interests.
He pointed out that the 35-year-old Marutlulle still had a bright coaching future ahead of him, and that not having a proper pre-season for the Currie Cup squad contributed to their four defeats in a row so far.
“I met with Edgar… I think he was very relieved that he didn’t have to go through this pressure — and again, it’s not by his doing. No (I’m not throwing him under the bus). I know where I stand with him, I speak to him and we have met a lot. At the end of the day, we both know where we stand, and it’s my job to sort it out,” White said.
“We had an interim part where we changed teams, and last year, I coached the same team right through the year. I thought I’d bring in some new coaches – two new coaches arrived, plus he (Marutlulle) took over.
“We didn’t get a good start. We played against two really good teams, and Free State have a good team who have been training for a long time, and Pumas — so we always had a tough start.
“So, when I chatted to him, I think he was relieved (to move back to the juniors as) the pressure is actually building… We know what our Bulls supporters are like in Pretoria, and I didn’t think it was fair to expose him week after week in an environment that I know is going to need some extra attention to turn it around.
“Last year, the Sharks had a coach who coached Currie Cup and he no longer coaches; Province had a Currie Cup coach who no longer coaches…
“I just didn’t think it was fair on Edgar, because of my doing, to expose him to that pressure. So no, it’s not a contradiction at all (to what I said when he was appointed). He is a very talented coach, he is young. And we realised that when we bring a young coach in, we probably need to give him more time to put a team together.
“We tried it with Pine Pienaar here, we tried it with Nollis Marais here and other coaches, and it hasn’t worked. So, it’s got nothing to do with their ability — it’s sometimes just the method we used.
“I’m fully aware that people will read into different things (with Marutlulle returning to the juniors)… I genuinely want to look after his development. The way we went from one campaign to another was probably not ideal, for any coach, because there’s no identity.
“Last year was probably easier because it was the same coaching group with the same group of players – so it made it easier.”
White said that there would be a full audit of the Champions Cup, United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup campaigns at the end of the season, and changes will be made to the coaching structures.
But he added that a tough fixture list and losing several senior players in the off-season and not replacing them made matters worse.
“Why would it be a panic response? At the end of the day, if I’m not the right guy, I will walk away as well It’s not like there’s rules for people and rules for other people. People can read into it (what they want)…” the former Springbok coach said.
“There have been coaches who won one game in two years and went on to win a Super Rugby title (referring to former Bulls boss Heyneke Meyer).
“I have been in this game a long time, and I understand that it’s not always easy. But if any coach comes through and you fire him in this professional world, then there is never really a right way. And I am not saying we are firing him…
“When coaches get fired, there is never a right way. In this case, it’s a genuine understanding that we wanted to fast-track him and give him a chance. He’s done really well, and he’s a good guy and played for the Bulls.
“There’s no agenda and I want to bring him through and surround him with coaches who are seniors, like Hugo van As, Gert Smal and Sean Everitt, and with myself in the wings there.
“In my retrospection, did we do it correctly? Could we have done it differently? Could we have given them a pre-season? Should we have split the squad?
“Is it fair for a guy – whoever it is – to come out with two new coaches? And in hindsight, probably not. And rather than just continue with it and make out as though it’s not going to go away, we prefer to say let’s see what we can do to help everybody.
“And I genuinely want to tell you that he understands it. He hasn’t been sent to the wolves, he hasn’t been chucked on the ash heap. He will be at our union for a long time and he will come through.
“We’ve had a very tough season, and to put things into perspective, we’ve lost Marcell, Duane, Trevor, Walt, Madosh… other teams have gained players.
“And that’s not an excuse. It’s just the lay of the land of where we are. We had a very tough two months over the Christmas period, playing the Sharks and Stormers away over the festive period.
“Then playing Exeter and Lyon (away), tough games, and you see now that they are still both in the quarter-finals. So, they weren’t easy results in the first place.
“It’s not a case of panic (stations). It’s a case of making decisions that are also in the interest of everybody. You read what Edgar said, and I am not talking for him – he said it.
“He puts the union first. And if it means that we need to make some changes now to get different results or different energies in the group, we are going to have to do that.
“It’s no different to the end of the year, where we are going to have to look at what worked and what didn’t work, and obviously make sure we sort those things out. As I said, it’s not a panic thing at all.”
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