Schalk Burger backs Willie Le Roux for positional switch after Springboks veteran turned Bulls into ‘a different animal’

Schalk Burger has hailed Willie Le Roux’s impact off the bench for the Bulls.

Former Springboks Schalk Burger and Akona Ndungane have praised Willie Le Roux for his cameo at fly-half against the Lions.

The Bulls are without first-choice fly-half Johan Goosen who suffered a knee injury in the side’s Investec Champions Cup victory over Stade Francais.

While Boeta Chamberlain finished that match off well in the fly-half channel adding a try to the Pretoria-based side’s cause, he struggled to get the attack firing in the United Rugby Championship clash against Lions.

Jake White’s side scored just one try in the 50 minutes that Chamberlain was on the pitch as the Bulls trailed their Juskei rivals 14-13 when he was replaced by Le Roux which proved to be a game-deciding substitution.

Wille Le Roux lauded for fly-half cameo

Springboks full-back Le Roux slotted into the fly-half channel for the last 30 minutes of the match – a role not foreign to him having started his career as a 10 and performing the role in Japan – and drove the attack that scored three more tries to seal a 22-35 victory in Johannesburg.

Former flanker, Burger hailed Le Roux’s impact and with Goosen likely to be sidelined for around eight to 12 weeks, has backed him to get the Bulls’ attack firing.

“The Bulls were a different animal once Willie came on,” the legendary Bok stated on Supersport.

“The fact that it flattens up, he releases the pressure off the back of the forwards, the forwards had options.

“In the first half, we often just saw Marcell Coetzee tracking it up – Willie comes up and Cameron Hanekom plays beautiful off him.

“The fact that he was flat means that all of a sudden you can see Cobus Wiese carry and he was largely anonymous in the first half.

“All of a sudden, the forwards see a number on their back, he stands nice and flat, he has the presence of mind to do a little double pump and it results in an early tackle on Canan [Moodie].

“It’s so nice when someone’s in motion behind you as a loose forward or playmaking forward because you know there’s always an option. It’s not just I’m going into contact – one pass ruck, one pass ruck and once you start having your two or three passes and then a ruck, the speed of those rucks are so much quicker as Akona alluded to earlier.”

‘It’s a pity that the Bulls have to get a 15 and convert him to a fly-half ‘

Ndungane heaped the praise on the veteran back, whose future at the Bulls beyond this season is in doubt, as he compared the performance of Le Roux to that of starting pivot, Chamberlain.

“In the first half, Boeta was just too deep, it was not a threat at all on the Lions’ defence,” the ex-Bulls and Bok winger added.

“And you can see with Willie he takes the ball, he runs a couple of metres before he makes the pass. Now the Lions’ defence has to wait and try pick up who he is going to play. He’s got options on his outside and you could see even if he plays Hanekom there, he’s got just a small gap to get his hands through and get that offload. And that’s how the Bulls were able to speed up play. That’s a difference.

“If your 10 can be able to control the game and he is moving forward and is running towards the defence, he’ll always make the right option and Willie is very experienced and it’s a pity that the Bulls have to get a 15 and convert him to a fly-half to be able to play the type of game that they want to play and to get four tries.”

What also impressed Burger was his ability to stay on his feet and avail himself for the next phase of the attack.

“And it’s just positioning, I don’t think Willie was tackled in that second half, it’s not like he was on the deck,” he explained.

“He had that one tackle on Edwill van der Merwe, that was an impressive one.

“His positioning though, how flat he is, how he’s in motion when he’s playing the passes. Does he have the presence of mind to line up flatter stand still, let the defence come to you? And then play your options off you.

“You know, Boeta is a little bit deeper when he opens up behind that pod is often too wide, and then when he does get the ball flat, he turns his shoulders early. Like, it’s not like a square and you as the defender get fixed.

“Then, your runners off that like Cameron Hanekom will then go ‘Listen here, I’m going to split this defender, run inside shoulder, outside shoulder.’ He can only do that if the fly-half’s alignment, the movement in motion is like that, forward, square facing and then he can play with his eyes with a double pump.

“If you turn your shoulders, we as runners can’t really have a target because you don’t see a number in front of your face.”

Changing of roles

With Goosen sidelined, White will have to make the decision over the number 10 jersey with Le Roux and Chamberlain the clear front runners.

Posed the question if there is a possibility of them swapping jerseys with Le Roux starting at ten and Chamberlain at 15, Ndungane was forthright in his reply.

“Well, it’s a very big possibility,” he said.

“The way that the Bulls finished that game should have shown Jake that maybe they get a better chance [of winning] with Willie at 10.

“Yes, Devon Williams wasn’t great in this game, he didn’t get as many options as we saw last week, but I think it’s worth giving a chance – let’s see what he can do because. I don’t think any 10 in the Bulls setup now will do better than Willie did… he gives him that extra creative attacking weapon and that’s what the Bulls are missing at the moment.

“They’ve got a very well-balanced pack to get them going forward, unfortunately, they picked up a couple of injuries which will test their depth going forward.”

Elrigh Louw and Ruan Nortje both sustained serious-looking injuries in the victory but the Bulls have been unable to provide an update on the Springboks pair as of yet as they both require further scans.