Willie le Roux has been called many things in his illustrious rugby career, but not always positive.
There should be much more respect on his name, though, for everything he has achieved – not the least of which are 98 Test caps for the Springboks.
Now in the late autumn of his time on the pitch at the age of 35, he has been asked to not only reinvent himself as a flyhalf, but pull the strings of a Bulls team missing three captains due to injury.
Le Roux had a few hairy moments against the Stormers and Sharks in the last fortnight, but showed his class in conducting the Bulls orchestra in the 31-19 bonus-point victory over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
It was almost as if he reined himself in at times as he mostly did the right thing when needed, and it brought a much better tempo on attack to the Bulls.
Coach Jake White has said over the last few weeks that Le Roux was playing like the fullback he is at flyhalf, but this time around, it was evident that he was operating as a true No 10: getting his outside backs into space, finding territory with the boot, and getting all the pieces of the Bulls puzzle in place.
The result was five tries and a bonus-point win over a plucky Lions outfit that fought back from 17-0 down after 14 minutes to get within three points by halftime.
The Johannesburg side never gave up, but ultimately, a combination of the Bulls’ strike-running – where Player of the Match Stedman Gans, wings Canan Moodie and Sebastian de Klerk, as well as fullback Devon Williams flourished as they feasted on the front-foot ball from the forwards.
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White will hope that the Bulls can reproduce that kind of cohesion as they round off a hectic five-match SA derby block against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld this Saturday (5pm kick-off).
The Bulls are still in third place on the United Rugby Championship log on 40 points after 11 matches, trailing Glasgow by two and Leinster by 12.
“We scored five tries, and I don’t know when last a team did that against the Lions. It’s an incredible achievement, and we had one disallowed over the tryline – which they say they had put the ball down,” the Bulls boss said.
“Sebastian de Klerk wasn’t dropped, as it was making sure people are fresh. He was picked for the Springbok camp last week, and was probably buzzing to play.
“Once we got past them, we could finish. Him (De Klerk) and Devon have trained and played many times for the Pumas, and it’s no surprise that Devon was also much better today.
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“It’s the importance of having Willie there. I just said as long as Willie is on the field, I just feel – especially with all the leaders that have been out, as we’ve just lost so many guys on the field – that we got a sense of how we want to play.
“I probably erred last week (against the Sharks) in taking him off too early... I should’ve left him on. He’s been carrying a bit of a niggle, and I was too conservative: I should’ve maybe worry about what happened last week and finish the game.
“I think Willie is good enough to understand when to run it and when to kick it, and that’s what makes it so different for us because when he’s on the field, there’s a little more guidance from him to the other players.”
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White added that the Bulls didn’t panic in the face of the Lions’ comeback before halftime, and again highlighted Le Roux’s effort in that regard to keep the team focused in the absence of Ruan Nortjé, Elrigh Louw and Marcell Coetzee.
“We just tried to make it so difficult for ourselves, and what I’m really happy about is that after doing that, I had a chat with them at halftime and we sort of tightened up again,” White said.
“And I put that down to Willie. You guys put a lot of media time into is he a 10? But it’s irrelevant what position he is the best at.
“For me and our group, I need him to be close and to control things. He will make mistakes, because that’s the kind of player he is.
“He is one of those kinds of guys – he ran the ball and threw a forward pass, when we tried to get out of our half.
“But look at the pass he made for the try that we scored... It’s management, but we will get better.
“When Ruan Nortjé gets back, and Marcell and other captains all together on the field, I’ve got no doubt that the direction and the way we play will be different.”
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