After a big Jukskei derby win for the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday, Jake White is relishing the pressure of expectation that comes with leading SA teams in the Vodacom URC title race.
The Bulls defeated the Lions for the second time this season with a bonus-point triumph in Johannesburg. Leading 5-3 at half time, the visitors scored three tries in the second 40 minutes to secure a 25-10 victory.
White’s charges also made it seven wins from 10 league games in 2023-24, remaining comfortably in the top four despite not hitting top gear at Ellis Park.
Speaking post-match on Saturday, the director of rugby told reporters: “We look at the top and we’re top, we have our destiny in our own hands. It’s pressure because people want us to do well or not to do well because other teams are trying to catch us.
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“I enjoy the fact that we’re on top, I enjoy the fact that we’re dominating, and I enjoy the fact that when we don’t play well we score four tries.
“There’s a lot of things to be positive about… because the other pressure is not pressure you want – relegation pressure, fighting for your life – no team wants that pressure.
“I’m enjoying the fact that we’re getting bonus points and near the top of the log, got a couple of senior players coming back as well, a guy like Wilco Louw which changes the dynamic of our squad.”
Bulls wing Canan Moodie scored a stunning first-half try, before replacement forwards Akker van der Merwe and Marcell Coetzee touched down during a dominant second period and centre David Kriel claimed the bonus-point score six minutes from time.
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“There’s a difference between the science of coaching and the art of coaching and you can’t tell a player, ‘there’s 20 minutes left, you’ve got to go on’ because it might be the exact wrong time to put someone on,” White said.
“But I’m very happy, all the coaches were on par, and bounced things off the forwards coaches at half time about who we should bring on … because sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong. That [6-2 split] definitely worked in our favour, having the bench we did and the timing of how much game time they got.”
The Stormers beat the Sharks 25-21 in Durban to leave them five points behind the Bulls, with the north-south rivals set to renew hostilities at Loftus Versfeld on 2 March. The Capetonians edged White’s men 26-20 in December to extend their streak over The Herd to 7-0 in the URC.
“I read a great article the other day – I don’t think the Sharks have beaten the Stormers since 2015, yet all we write about is how many times the Bulls have lost to the Stormers,” White explained.
“So it’s definitely not a bogey team.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images