“I have even more respect for a person like Heyneke Meyer who called me everyday" - Marais

28 May 2017 - 17:11 By Liam Del Carme
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Nollis Marais new head coach of the Blue Bulls Currie Cup team during the Super Rugby match between Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on June 13, 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Nollis Marais new head coach of the Blue Bulls Currie Cup team during the Super Rugby match between Vodacom Bulls and Toyota Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld on June 13, 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Image: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

Outgoing Bulls coach Nollis Marais admits to having made mistakes‚ but that he is a better coach for it.

Marais fronted up candidly after his side crashed to another Super Rugby defeat‚ this time to the defending champion Hurricanes at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls' season has yielded just four wins and Marais will from July make way for former All Blacks and Lions coach John Mitchell‚ who will be the franchise's new rugby executive.

  • Bulls suffer freakish number of casualties after defeat to HurricanesCuriously, in this instance it is perhaps adding injury to insult‚ as the Bulls suffered a freakish number of casualties in their 34-20 defeat to the Hurricanes at Loftus. 

Asked if the pressure had relented since the announcement‚ Marais gave a wry smile.

“Not in the least. We are disappointed about the season and the results.

"No coach would enjoy that. I never wanted to be in this position.

"I have a management team for which I am responsible for. Their future is also to be considered. I can't discuss that now.

  • Has the beleaguered Marais picked his last team as Bulls coach? Moments after beleaguered Bulls coach Nollis Marais named the team to face the red-hot Hurricanes‚ the Pretoria side announced that it would hold another press conference at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Thursday evening. 

“I understand (the decision).

"I've always said that if the board feels that it is time to move on and bring in someone else then fine.

"They still regard me enough to keep me here. Failure isn't nice... for no-one.”

Marais revealed that former Bulls and Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer‚ whom he regards as a mentor‚ had been an emotional crutch over the last month or so.

“I have even more respect for a person like Heyneke (Meyer) who called me everyday.

"He told me the most important thing is that you can't really tell someone about this until you've been through it yourself.

“The pressure is never off.

"The pressure actually increases because you have to win. This is not what we had in mind.”

Marais said it gets easier to cope with the pressure after a while but had a caveat.

“It gets easier to cope with the pressure because you learn from it.

"If you asked me what I did wrong two years ago I will definitely be able to tell you what that is.

"They always say that you learn the most when you lose. That's a fact. You learn from it and you just can't make the same mistakes.

“You get used to it and you learn how to handle it better. Sometimes you say something that you shouldn't.

"Pressure will always be there for a coach. Sometimes you bring pressure to yourself.”

At the end of this Super Rugby campaign Marais can solely focus on the Currie Cup. It is a challenge that enthuses him.

“At every level that I've coached I've won a trophy and I really wanted to win the Currie Cup last year.

"The Currie Cup is ahead of us and we need to prepare for that.

"We have to go all out and try and win the Currie Cup. For that I need to put the right measures in place.

“I want to win Super Rugby and when John comes in we need to turn this and make sure the Bulls win.

"For me it is about the success of the Bulls. That is the most important.” Marais was put on the spot when asked if he thought his ordeal now made him a better coach.

“You can only get better. I know what not to do next time.

"If I have to be a head coach again in Super Rugby I''ll certainly makes sure that I have all my ducks in a row.

"I've learnt a lot about off the field management‚ player management‚ to do things so that I can get the best of myself out there.

“Heyneke said to me back then 'you're making a mistake.

"When things don't go your way you are not going to be happy about it.' He keeps saying 'I told you'”.

“I still believe I was the right man for the job. I've made mistakes and it can only get better from there.”

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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