White to use Lions and Stormers clashes as prep for playoffs

Bulls director of rugby Jake White already has one eye on the playoff stages of the United Rugby Championship and is looking to their back-to-back local derby encounters against the Lions and Stormers to prepare for the knockout stages.

Following a lengthy break, the Bulls will return to URC action on Saturday when they make a short trip to Johannesburg to take on the Lions at Ellis Park (3pm) and then the next weekend they will welcome the Stormers to Loftus Versfeld in a North-South derby.

White’s team are the best performing SA side in the URC as they are in fourth place on the log with 30 points, but their credentials as title contenders will be tested leading up to the playoffs.

Trial runs

To get his side’s big match temperament up, White will use the games against their rivals to prepare them for the knockout stages.

“They are must-win games; these are like trial runs for the big knockout games that are coming,” White told the media on the sidelines of the Loftus B-field.

“One is the Lions away and it’s at altitude so we are used to it, and then the Stormers who we haven’t beaten in a long time. I keep hearing about that and I’m sure I’ll keep hearing about that for the next couple of weeks as well, so it’s time we beat them.

“You want to go to these big games (with confidence)… I’m talking about the back end of the competition, all the playoffs and knockout games. It’s going to be no different against these two because it’s like copy and paste.”

‘We have to play well’

White said they would have to play their best rugby from now until the playoffs.

“We are going to have to play well, we are going to play our best rugby. We’re going to play Test rugby, and we are going to have to find a way in which we can win these two games,” he said.

“We needed some time off, we needed to refresh, we needed to look at where our game is and I think we are looking forward to getting back on the field.”