Several top players show their confidence in Jake White’s long-term plans
Considering the large number of top players willing to sign long-term contracts with the Bulls, Jake White's plans to ensure this union's depth to remain competitive in all the tournaments they currently participate in, are taking shape.
The Bulls’ director of rugby, Jake White, is sometimes mocked by trolls on social media as if he talks too much and doesn’t do enough in practice to support these arguments.
Still, White seems to be slowly but surely positioning the Bulls to be properly competitive in all three competitions in which the franchise participates, two of which are European competitions, while the Currie Cup continues to be the tournament where local young talent should be exposed to top rugby.
Despite the criticism from quasi-rugby experts, the Bulls are still well positioned to at least reach the final of the URC tournament later this season, while they were South Africa’s best team in the European Rugby Champions Cup. So, White is doing something right after all.
Photo: Bulls
In the past week, the Bulls have announced a few more names who have extended their contracts to play their rugby in Pretoria for a few more seasons. As other stars have done in recent times, most of these players have committed themselves to the Bulls until 2027, the next World Cup year, while others have signed until 2026, but are also likely to extend their contracts for another year until 2027, especially if they are potentially in line for Springbok selection.
The underrated lock, Ruan Vermaak, is the latest name to be added to the large group of stars and rising stars, who will be at the disposal of White and his management for the next two to three seasons. He signed until June 2027.
Together with Vermaak, it was also announced that the former Junior Springbok and probable future Springbok hooker, Johan Grobbelaar, also signed to stay in the Bulls kraal until 2027.
Photo: Bulls
Another Junior Springbok, who also practices his rugby trade as a hacker these days, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, has also confirmed that he will remain part of the Bulls pack until June 2026.
The fourth name that has already become known this week as one of the men who was prepared for a long-term connection with the Bulls, is the versatile Dawid Kriel. He put his signature on a new contract until June 2027.
Stars like Gerhard Steenekamp (2028), Canan Moodie (2027), Cameron Hanekom (2027), Elrich Louw (2027), Marcel Coetzee (2027), Kurt-Lee Arendse (2026), Johan Goosen (2026), Wilco Louw (2026) ), Willie le Roux (2026), Mornay Smith (2026) and Akker van der Merwe (2026) all identified themselves with White’s plans by entering longer-term contracts with the Bulls.
Photo: Bulls
Then there are men like Ruan Nortjé (2025), Marco van Staden (2024) and Embrose Papier (2024) who are all probably high on the Bulls’ priority list to also extend their contracts until at least 2027.
In addition, it is highly likely that rising young stars such as Stedman Gans, Janko Swanepoel, Reinhardt Ludwig and Simphiwe Matanzima will all also remain part of Jake White’s plans until at least 2027.
If all these stars stay at Loftus and buy into White’s medium to long-term plans, the shrewd rugby director may be the one who has the last laugh and will soon be able to stick his tongue out at his critics.
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