Jake White has cited flanker Elrigh Louw’s inclination to change his playing style as to why those called up to the next Springbok camp shouldn’t be overeager to impress.
Rassie Erasmus last week named a 43-man contingent that will be attending the first of three Bok strategic sessions from next Monday, and Louw is one of 12 Vodacom Bulls on the list.
Teammates Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cameron Hanekom and Mpilo Gumede are among 16 uncapped players included for the gathering in Cape Town, while Louw returns to the Boks after his maiden two Test appearances in 2022.
Speaking in the build up to the north-south derby between the Bulls and DHL Stormers on Saturday, White stressed the Bok camp’s purpose of acknowledging progress and identifying areas for improvement while cautioning newcomers against the misconception that one standout performance guarantees selection.
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“When Elrigh Louw was invited for the first time, I found that it was almost like he wanted to play like someone else [when he came back],” the Bulls director of rugby told reporters.
“I think he thought, if he played an offloading game, ran down the wing, and did things that weren’t the way he played every week he would be earmarked.”
White added: “My concern was all the new guys that [could] now feel they can almost play themselves into the team in one Saturday against the Stormers, that is the lesson we learnt in past seasons.
“You often get a guy who’s not good at certain things and he thinks that, if he does it in big games, he’s going to get noticed, and it’s probably the wrong time to do it.
“A lot of boys have been going to alignment camps for the last three years and never played, so … I think the message is: ‘Don’t do anything different. You don’t have to be a rock star or superstar overnight, you’ve been picked for a certain reason, they see certain qualities in you’.”
Photo: @BlueBullsRugby/Twitter
The post Jake’s word of caution for Bok rookies appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
