Jake White says it will take a team effort for the Vodacom Bulls to keep France dynamo Antoine Dupont out of the game in the Champions Cup playoff in Toulouse on Sunday. DYLAN JACK reports.
WIN: Tickets to Stormers vs Harlequins
The Vodacom Bulls will be up against a powerhouse Toulouse side stacked with France internationals in the last 16 clash.
Led by hooker Julian Marchand, Toulouse also count prop Cyril Baille, locks Thibauld Flament, loose forwards Francois Cros and Anthony Jelonch, halfbacks Dupont and Romain Ntamack and fullback Thomas Ramos among their star players.
Trying to limit Dupont’s influence will be particularly key for the Vodacom Bulls, if they are to produce a shock result. Many a coach and senior player have tried to come up with plans to stop the 2023 Six Nations Player of the Tournament, but to no avail.
“I am sure that there are ways. I am not going to divulge those ways,” White said when asked about the scrumhalf. “When I was coaching South Africa, one game that comes to mind is when we played Argentina when they had Agustin Pichot. He was as important to Argentina, as Antoine Dupont is to France and Toulouse.
“I think the one way anything happens to any play is by building pressure. Pressure changes the actions of players. It happens in all sport. You watch what pressure does to golfers or any team in the back end of a competition. You watch what the last 10 minutes of a game do to decision-making.
“That’s the key. We have to build pressure. We need to find ways in which the whole team collectively can put pressure on the opposition. That will filter to the decision-makers, as it does to us.”
MORE: Don’t write off Bulls, says Schalk
The Vodacom Bulls go into Sunday’s match on the back of an eight-game losing streak in all competitions.
However, White says the Vodacom Bulls have shown that they can dethrone the giants of European rugby, as they did in last season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final against Leinster.
“We can find confidence in the past. Ironically, something that happened this time last year, when we beat Leinster [in the URC semi-final], that Leinster side beat Toulouse in the Champions Cup semi-final. We know we can do it. If we play well enough, there is no reason we can’t get a result. Losing created doubt, and winning creates confidence. We have to keep believing. When our results turn, we have to appreciate winning more.
“Last year we played the whole Irish team that went on to win the Six Nations. We don’t have the same list of international players. There is no use in trying to control things we can’t control. We want to be part of this competition for a long time. For example, Racing has never won this competition and they’ve had incredible players. Some teams can play for a long time and never get close.
“We are playing a Toulouse with Dupont, one of the best in the world. France are favourites to win the World Cup. This is a French team playing at home in a year of a home World Cup, which will add to their motivation. We can’t get away from that. We can only prepare as well as we can prepare.”
The game will not be played at Toulouse’s regular home ground, the 19,000-seater Stade Ernest-Wallon. Instead, it has been moved to the 33,000-seater Stadium de Toulouse, which is more regularly used for football matches.
“This means they’ve sold more tickets, they see the Bulls as a bigger game,” White said. “It will be an incredible occasion for this group of players.”
Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images