Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White has explained why Trevor Nyakane was not named as captain or as a ‘deputy’ to newly-appointed skipper Duane Vermeulen.
On Tuesday, the Bulls confirmed that Vermeulen will succeed Burger Odendaal as captain of their new-look squad under the direction of White.
Meanwhile, new signings Gio Aplon and Arno Botha were selected as leadership deputies.
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Speaking on episode six of the ‘No Holds Barred’ feature on the Bulls app, White was asked why Nyakane had not been named in this official captaincy group after fulfilling a leadership role in the past.
‘Trevor is an interesting guy. He’s a fantastic guy to be around. Having chatted to him, he appreciates the fact that he doesn’t need that responsibility on the field,’ White answered.
‘He felt it was quite difficult for him to be a prop and talk to referees and still focus on his game. There’s no doubt that Trevor will still add value as a leader in our group.
‘He is very happy and understanding of the fact that a guy like Duane is a World Cup winner and has captained South Africa … I think he understands that with Duane, in terms of where we are as a group, we need an experienced captain and player to take charge.’
White added that there would need to be other leaders who stepped in to assist at different times.
‘I think that he [Vermeulen] will probably depart for the Springboks if they go away at the back end of the competition. Then we’ve got guys like Arno, who has been a junior capatain at the Vodacom Bulls and was successful.
‘And a guy like Gio Aplon, who captained Toyota Verblitz when I was in Japan. So, I think it’s not just the three of them that will be taking charge. Guys like Trevor, Morne Steyn, Ivan van Zyl will be asked to give their valuable opinion in terms of how we want to play and what we want to do both on and off the field.’
