Jake’s way

It used to be rumoured in Blue Bull country, or should that be Super Currie Cup country?, that the Bulls players did not have much time for Jake White.

One quite prominent sporting figure once told me at a golf day at Pecanwod that the Bulls often referred to the former Springbok coach as “Jake the Snake!”

I have no idea whether this was true, and I saw no evidence of any antipathy while covering the Springboks, but if it were it would be most ironic because the world’s best provincial team adhere to Jake’s winning way.

And their victory in the Currie Cup Final was graphic proof of something Jake understood best of all – that possession of the ball is no longer the golden rule of success.

Remember Jake’s mantra – “the World Cup will be won by defence?”

He was proven right in France in 2007 and by the Bulls in the Final.

If the result had hinged on match stats at Loftus the Cheetahs would have won by a country mile.

The Cheetahs can rightly be said to have played all the rugby, they were in control of the ball for an inordinate amount of time, they played in Bulls’ territory for the greater percentage of the match yet they ended up too far in arrears to really make a match of it as the Bulls picked off three tries in the space of 13 minutes from the 4th to the 17th.

The Bulls, just like White’s Springboks, overturned the rule that the team making the most tackles will tire and lose, as their well-organised blanket defence and physicality in making the hit enabled them to absorb the pressure while they waited for the mistake or stolen ball to launch onto the attack in broken play.

The upshot was that possession in fact became a liability as that supreme tactician Fourie du Preez exploited the space at the back left by a fullback and wings getting forward to be part of the attack.

It says much for the resolve and determination of the Free Staters that they did manage to score three tries but the Bulls’ unwavering defence also milked the penalties that Morné Steyn kicked to provide the buffer of points the Bulls needed in order to maintain the comfort zone provided by that early spate of 24 points.

A friend of mine reminded me that Eddie Jones had correctly described possession as “Fool’s Gold” as these days the laws favour the defending team – as proven by the Cheetahs who attacked with such bravery and dedication but could not breach the blue wall often enough.

The Free Staters might have opted for a deeper alignment, to pull defenders out of the defensive line, but probably feared a suicidal mistake behind the advantage line, while they might also have made use of the chip over the top to turn the Bulls but were clearly loath to give away the ball.

Whereas teams used to grab a turned over ball and kick it away to win some respite White’s Springboks and Ludeke’s Bulls now use defence as the primary form of creating an offensive platform – tackle, tackle, tackle, tackle; attack!

They have clearly worked on their fitness to be able to withstand the pounding and are alert to the half-chance provided by a mistake.

Of course it’s not good for the game, but that’s the way it is. Defence rules and the big problem is that too much off-sides in set and general play and illegal play at the breakdown is allowed. Insist that the players are on their feet, remain behind the hindmost feet at rucks and mauls and five metres back from the scrums and I guarantee attacking sides will come back into their own… now where have I seen that before?