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Cornal Hendricks
Johan Rynners / Blue Bulls Rugby
- Although he has only played one competitive game under his supervision to date, Cornal Hendricks has already praised Bulls rugby manager Jake White for his winning mentality.
- The 32-year-old stalwart says Bok’s former trainer is a “very smart, smart” operator.or.
- Hendricks cautions that the Bulls have not overstated their hand with a strong performance on Super Fan Saturday as they wait for Griquas this weekend.
A pedigree has its advantages, just ask Jake white.
Even though the Bulls have only played one preseason game under his leadership to date, he is already receiving a lot of praise for his “winning mentality.”
Cornal Hendricks, who is increasingly seen as a key member in the former Springbok coach and World Cup winner’s plan to start his tenure, has particularly enjoyed it.
“It is a great honor and a privilege to work with him,” said the 32-year-old stalwart.
“He’s a smart, very smart coach. What I enjoy is that he has a lot of different training styles. He wants you to feel comfortable in whatever position you play in. He’s really done us a lot of good as players at a time like this.
“There have been some tough moments in the last few years, but Jake and his entire coaching staff have brought a winning mentality and the way we’ve been training has been excellent. It’s making us better as individuals and as a team.”
To be honest, the men of Loftus didn’t do themselves a huge favor in terms of avoiding high expectations with a magnificent 49-28 win over the Sharks on Super Fan Saturday in Loftus a fortnight ago, a clinical performance that showed little that no signs of oxidation.
It has even led to suggestions that the Bulls have already gone overboard before the start of Super Rugby Unlocked this weekend.
But Hendricks has issued a stern warning.
READ | ‘Newborn’ Cornal Hendricks will play it as he sees it inside the center
“There are a lot of things that we haven’t done yet,” he said.
“Obviously we are very happy with the way we play against the Sharks, but we just want to keep playing good rugby.”
That will have Griquas, the Bulls’ opponents at Loftus on Saturday night, firmly on the alert, although the Peacock Blues themselves are an unknown factor, having only played two warm-ups against the Cheetahs in the past two weeks with new coach Scott. Mathie.
They also have the motivation to give the hosts a 37-15 beating at last year’s Currie Cup in their own backyard.
“We are preparing for each game with the same attitude,” Hendricks said.
“Griquas will come to Pretoria to prove a point again, I have no doubt. But we prepare the same every week whether we are playing against the Sharks, Lions, Cheetahs or Griquas. We are quite happy with the way we play against the Sharks. We learned a lot from that game and we did a lot of things well. “