Bulls director Jake White puts ball in S’bu Nkosi’s court

The Springbok, who scored two tries in the World XV's exhibition match against the Barbarians in London over the weekend, has been linked with a move away from the Tshwane side following his struggles since signing from the Sharks in 2022.

White believes it would be unfortunate for Nkosi's career to just fizzle out, but the player must accept responsibility for his own fortunes.

"I've got kids his age, I don't think anybody would like to see someone go from a World Cup winner to not being guaranteed of playing rugby," White told the media.

"He's a talented player [but] I'm very disappointed with what he wrote on social media. I mean, he knows that I had a meeting with him. Considering The Bulls let him go and play in a game overseas, to read the comments he made was obviously disappointing.

"But, as I said, you've got to make decisions. He's a big boy now, he's got to make decisions about where he wants to go, and it's not always in anyone else's hands other than the player. At this point in time, he's got to look and see where he wants to go."

Pressed on Nkosi's non-selection when the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks, and Daniel Kriel have all been rotated in the back-line, the 2017 World Cup-winning coach says Nkosi has just not been on par. 

"He's not playing well enough, he's not training hard enough. I don't see him enough for him to warrant selection ahead of guys that have been training in the group anyway," White added.

"It's not for me to discuss a guy's future. As I said, he's a big boy now, he's a World Cup-winning Springbok, he's got to make decisions about where he wants to be and he's got to make sure those decisions are in the best interest of both himself and the club."