Bulls boss Jake White relieved to get another crack at URC final

As the Bulls prepare to contest the final of the United Rugby Championship against the Glasgow Warriors at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, their director of rugby Jake White says they will not drop the baton at the finish line.

The Bulls have done the hard yards this season in the URC, being meticulous during the regular season, where they finished in second place on the points table.

The high finish on the table secured them home ground advantage in the quarter-final against Benetton, where they won 30-23, and in the semi-final, where they defeated Leinster 25-20 at the weekend.

‘You coach to win trophies’

As brilliant and memorable as the season has been for the Pretoria franchise, the Bulls have one more game left: the Grand Final. With a trophy on offer on Saturday against the Warriors, White wants his side to finish the season in pole position.

“I don’t think anyone who was watching the previous game (the quarter-final against Benetton) would have thought the Bulls could win this game against Leinster (in the semi-final),” White began.

“I suppose you coach for those memories, and obviously to win trophies. It means nothing to win (against Leinster) and drop the baton at the last hurdle,” he added.

“I’m not going to walk away from what’s worked for us (this season). I might tactically look at a couple of things. We’ll pick a team that I think will be able to do the things we need to do to get the win.”

“We are growing”

Saturday will be the Bulls’ second final in three seasons of the URC. In the inaugural season, they lost to the Stormers in the final, and in the sophomore season, they crashed out in the last eight to the same team.

White believes the experience they gained from those defeats will help the players against the Warriors.

“This is a baby group; this is not close to where we want to be as a group. These are building blocks. We have paid our school fees, we lost to the Stormers in the final and quarter-final, and we are going to get another crack,” White said.

“We are growing. I know we are going to get better. You can’t put a price on the experience they get now; it’s going to help them,” he said.

Fill up Loftus

For the semi-final clash against Leinster, there were 31,578 spectators at Loftus Versfeld. White called on fans to fill up Loftus, as the occasion will be huge.

“It’s going to be fantastic. Imagine 52,000 people coming to a final at Loftus; it’ll probably be like the good old days,” he said.

“We haven’t lost a playoff game at Loftus since the Brumbies in 2014 (who were coached by White).”