Africa-Press – South-Africa. Bulls director of rugby Jake White said Edgar Marutlulle was “relieved” after being demoted back down to the Blue Bulls juniors and that he would also be willing to “walk away” if he was not the right person to coach the team.
Pressure has ramped up on the Bulls following a poor string of 10 consecutive losses in all competitions since January.
On Wednesday, White took the Currie Cup reins permanently after Marutlulle, appointed as Currie Cup coach at the age of 35 in March, was demoted to being their Under-20 team assistant and Under-19 head coach.
Marutlulle had overseen just three Currie Cup matches.
White took over the Blue Bulls’ loss to Western Province and oversaw six defeats in European competitions on the trot. But the former Springbok World Cup-winning coach said the decision to demote Marutlulle wasn’t a sign of panic.
“It’s not a case of panic. Not at all. Why would it be a panicked response?” said White.
“It’s making decisions in the best interests of everybody.
“At the end of the day, if I’m not the right guy, I’ll walk away as well. It’s not like there’s rules for some people and rules for other people.
“We’ve had a very tough season. To put it into perspective, we’ve lost Marcell Coetzee, Duane Vermeulen, Trevor Nyakane, Walt Steenkamp, Madosh Tambwe and other teams have gained players.
“And that’s not an excuse – it’s just the lay of the land. We had a very tough two months over the Christmas period in terms of fixtures – playing the Sharks and Stormers, then Exeter and Lyon.
“Edgar put the union first. If we need to make some changes to get different results or energy in the group, then we’re going to have to do that.
“We’re going to have to look at what worked and what didn’t and make sure we sort those things out.”
White said he also felt the pressure when results weren’t going their way.
The Blue Bulls host Griquas at Loftus on Friday night (17:00 kick-off) looking to avoid a fifth straight Currie Cup defeat.
In Marutlulle’s last game in charge, the Bulls lost to the Griffons for the first time in their history when they went down 32-28 last Friday.
“I feel pressure when we are not doing as well as we are this year,” said White.
“I’ve been doing this job for 40 years and I feel that sometimes you think, ‘What do I need to do?’
“If we don’t do anything and the guy (Marutlulle) has a nervous breakdown or doesn’t handle the pressure and doesn’t take it well and gets personal attacks, people will ask me: ‘Why didn’t you come in and help the guy?’
“I put him there. I gave him an opportunity. I was the one that said, ‘Listen, I’m going to look after you and make sure you have coaches around you that are going to make you feel comfortable in that environment.”
White said the turn of events was no fault of Edgar’s, but he felt that it was better he stepped in now so that Marutlulle didn’t lose his confidence.
“It’s a very tough environment. He’s done well. He won the [SA Rugby] Under-19 tournament and the Under-20 last year as an assistant coach.
“That’s why I thought it would be nice to reward him to be around some senior players. I just don’t think it was the right way to do it.
“It’s no fault of his. But I thought it was better to help him not lose confidence and not feel as though this job is something he doesn’t want to do.
“I want him to still be involved in rugby. It’s a beautiful game, a wonderful environment, and a career to have and he’s such a young guy and I don’t think it’s fair that he has to endure the rest of a tough season.
“We’re not doing well in the URC and he’s not doing well in the Currie Cup. It’s not one or the other. It’s a case of a group of players [not doing well].”
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