Jake White has appealed to Vodacom Bulls fans to get behind their team and fill up Loftus Versfeld for a blockbuster clash against Leinster on Saturday.
The Bulls showed true grit against Benetton in a thrilling quarter-final in Pretoria last week to snatch victory, booking a first home Vodacom URC semi-final in the process against the Irish giants.
White’s charges provided one of the famous upsets of the competition by winning 27-26 in the 2021-22 semi-finals in Dublin, and speaking in the buildup to this week’s meeting, the director of rugby emphasised the importance of having a packed Loftus cheering on the Herd.
“We are going to need everybody here, we need 52,000 people here like we did against the Stormers,” White said.
“There is no use in having a home game and not using that as an advantage. So, my plea to the public is that we need them. We need for whoever comes here to feel as though the Loftus faithful are in full cry.”
White says the economic reality of the support base is not lost to everyone at Loftus.
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“People are struggling and it is the middle of the month. The average local does not have the income to visit the stadium for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Ireland Test match (on 6 July). The average family cannot afford to watch four games of rugby in a month with two kids in the family,” he added
“Hopefully, we will be able to get in a few more people this week than last week [19,243 against Benetton] because this is the dress rehearsal of the Springboks versus Ireland Test.”
The Bulls mentor has also extended an invite to neighbouring city locals to traverse down the N1 for the big clash.
“I am hoping that even those who live in Joburg will travel down the highway to come and watch a great game.”
Nowhere else to be THIS Saturday! 😍🇿🇦
🎟️BUY YOUR TICKET NOW: https://t.co/gwQNRqgMu2 #FillUpLoftus | #HomeAdvantage pic.twitter.com/AAawMAjq7C
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) June 11, 2024
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The Bulls and Leinster have already established a fierce rivalry in the short history of the URC and White says those lessons are not lost to his side.
“The one positive thing is they beat us 31-3 in the first round of our first year and we went on to beat them in the semi-finals at Leinster,” he said.
“So, it is not something that hasn’t been done by our group and the beauty of knockout rugby is anything is possible and anything can happen. If we can get a good start like we did in the quarterfinals, then they are under pressure.
“Last weekend all the pressure was on us because no one gave Benetton a chance and this week all the pressure is on Leinster. They are probably going to have more pressure than us because the expectation is that Leinster should be winning with the international roster they have.
“I hope we will be regrouping well and look after our bodies well and go into the game with the belief that it has been done before in Leinster and so we have to believe that it can be in the capital as well.”
“We have measured ourselves against the best and whatever they have chucked at us, we have gotten it wrong at times and gotten it right at times. Reality is no one thinks we can beat Leinster like they didn’t a couple of years back and we did,” he added.
“I believe that it can be done.”
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