Jake White, Chris Smith 'feeling better' as 'team effort' sees Bulls overcome flu disruption

Bulls director of rugby Jake White was still not well enough to attend a Bulls press conference on Saturday morning, but he is "feeling better" as he continues his recovery from the flu that saw him miss Friday night's United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Dragons in Newport. 

The Bulls were dealt a couple of late changes, with White unable to make the trip from the hotel to the stadium while flyhalf Chris Smith, too, was ruled out with flu. 

It meant that Johan Goosen was elevated to the starting line-up while Werner Kruger and Russell Winter combined to take on the match-day coaching responsibilities. 

The tourists got the job done, leaving 29-14 bonus-point winners, and speaking on Saturday morning, Kruger praised the efforts of the players and coaching staff given the disruption they had to overcome. 

"It's a bit of a disruption, and we planned the whole week with Chris, and Jake was obviously involved," said Kruger. 

"All credit to the team and everyone who stepped up, filling little roles and coming together to make it work on game-day.

"Credit to Johan, too, for stepping into flyhalf. It took a bit of a reshuffle, but the boys switched on and stayed focused on the task at hand."

Kruger stressed that running the show in White's absence was down to a team effort from the backroom staff. 

"It was definitely a combined effort," said Kruger.

"Jake is obviously our leader, and with him not being there, everyone stepped up."

White and Smith will now return with the Bulls to Pretoria on Sunday, as planned, where they will prepare for a European Champions Cup clash against Exeter at Loftus on Saturday. 

"Both of them are fine," said Kruger. 

"They're feeling a lot better this morning. They'll continue their recovery back