'Bulls didn't need state's OK to drop Jacobs'

A week after South Africa's four Super 12 rugby coaches had picked only the minimum number of black players, the Bulls demoted one of the country's most exciting players of colour.

Adrian Jacobs, who played at centre in the most recent Springbok team, was relegated to the bench for Saturday night's game against the Wellington Hurricanes. Jacobs, who was one of the Bulls' outstanding players last week in their 44-31 defeat at Loftus by the Cats, will be replaced by JP Nel.

Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer, who admitted to seeking government approval for the move, defended his controversial selection.

Jacobs was injured, said the coach. But apparently not so injured that he could not be included on the bench.

Meyer told reporters that Jacobs had missed several training sessions this week because of "niggling calf and back strains".

Meyer also said that he would not allow any of his players to go through the full 12 matches of the competition without a break. He would rotate his squad, he said. Presumably, Jacobs is being rotated on Saturday.

Meyer called his decision to relegate Jacobs "a precaution". He told reporters that he had spoken to Jacobs privately and that their discussions were confidential.

"He is not 100% at the moment and he isn't game fit," Meyer said.

"However, he is still a valuable player and a game-breaker and because of his niggles I don't want to push him to hard. It's a precaution. He is a great impact player and as soon as he is 100% fit, he will start games again."

"I had a good chat with Adrian and he knows that it is the best decision for him."

Meyer, aware of possible political fallout for dropping such a high-profile black player, said he had "spoken to the ministry of sport and they are 100% happy with the path we have followed".

South African Super 12 teams are obliged to have four black players in the match squad of 22 and two on the field at all times. This is part of SA Rugby's transformation drive to counter reluctance in past seasons by coaches and selectors to give black players as many chances as white ones at the top level.

The coaches have been urged to embrace transformation and go beyond picking only two black wings, but Meyer will have only Wyllie Human and Gavin Passens - both wings - as his black players in the starting line-up on Saturday.

The chief executive of SA Rugby, Rian Oberholzer, said coaches should have a free hand, but he was unhappy with any incumbent Springbok being dropped. He said Jacobs had the potential to be a great player and should be given as much Super 12 experience as possible.

Oberholzer also emphasised that the ministry of sport "did not run SA rugby" and said that clearing teams with the department was "taking things too far".

There are suspicions that the real reason for dropping Jacobs is that Meyer fears the Springbok is not up to defending his channel against Tana Umaga and Pita Alatini, the two renowned All Black centres who will be in the Hurricanes team on Saturday.

Was it then a case of picking a white defender ahead of a black attacker? Perhaps the coach should have said so.

- Last week, when the Sharks lost to the Stormers in Durban, the home team fielded only one black player for about 30 minutes in the second half. Prop Etienne Fynn left the field at halftime and black wing Rodger Smith came on with 10 minutes to play.