Jake: We missed Hanekom's speed

02/15/2025 02:49 PM

Jake White rued the absence of injured flanker Cameron Hanekom as the Vodacom Bulls succumbed to the Sharks at Loftus on Saturday.

The Bulls director of rugby bemoaned the lack of pace up front without Hanekom as the hosts struggled to contain the Sharks' rapid attack in a 29-22 loss.

“We missed Cameron’s speed as a loose forward today,” White said in a post-match press conference on Saturday. “He could have closed holes before they opened us up as wide as they did.

“We now realise that without the guys that played last week, like Marcell Coetzee and Cameron, we struggled. Once they were able to use their pace, we were up against it.”

The Sharks scored three second-half tries, with speedster Yaw Penxe landing the final blow in the 71st minute.

White said the Bulls failed to deal with the Sharks’ speed, an issue he will look to deal with for their clash with the Stormers in round 12.

“They selected a really quick backline,” White added. “If you look at it man for man, that is their strength.”

“Grant Williams, Yaw Penxe, and Jerenzo Julius are really quick players. Even Lukhanyo Am, who played centre, has played on the wing in the past.

“It just shows you they have genuine speed. We were exposed 50 yards out by pure pace. It’s something we have to look at, selection wise.

“They have sevens rugby players at the back and once they made line breaks, we couldn’t catch them.

“They scored long-range tries and the reason for that is they outpaced us and there is no substitute for speed.

“The frustrating thing is, throughout the season we’ve generally been able to recover from linebreaks and tackles from behind. We have to work on stopping teams getting past us.”

The Bulls were dominant in the second half, putting immense pressure on the visitors at the set piece.

The Sharks survived a three-man deficit at one stage, with the Bulls failing to capitalise on the numerical advantage out wide.

“It was very concerning,” White said. “Just before half time, we kicked three penalties into touch for a maul and at the end they turned the maul over.

“It’s the third maul in succession so you would think of the three you would put them away, but we didn’t. In the second half again we had three opportunities and we didn’t finish it off.

“It is a concern because when you play teams like today, there are no freebies. You have to take your chances.

“It is something we are going to have to look at. We didn’t have a recognised goal-kicker so kicking for the corner was always something we were going to have to rely upon.

“We were old school Bulls today.  We mauled and scrummed them to pieces, but we can’t just be known for dominating in the scrums and at the maul and not get a result.

“I don’t want us to be that team that just goes into their shell and always thinks about scrum penalties and maul penalties, the rest of the game was what let us down.

“I wanted to make sure when I got there that we added something more to our game, that is why I’m frustrated today. We didn’t look like a team even against 12 and 13 players that had enough variation.

“I’m going to have to sit them down and tell them they have to do more than think every scrum or lineout is points.”

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

The post Jake: We missed Hanekom’s speed appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.