White praises Bulls for ‘premium’ away win over Bristol Bears

Bulls boss Jake White has expressed his delight after his team continued their impressive form on the road by beating the Bristol Bears 31-17 in a dominant Champions Cup showing at Ashton Gate on Saturday.

The victory was the Bulls’ third in Europe this season in all competitions. They got over the line thanks to tries from Sergeal Petersen, Khutha Mchunu, Elrigh Louw and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, plus nine points from Johan Goosen’s boot and two from David Kriel’s.

The Bulls were solid throughout the 80 minutes, enjoying a lot of dominance in the scrums.

‘Proud of the whole team’

Speaking to the media after the win, White praised his side for getting the job done away from home.

“Away wins are a premium. If you look at the results today (Saturday) not many away sides got a win. To get an away win and to get a bonus point is something we’ll enjoy,” White said.

“We are still very young, we are still far away from where we want to be, but when you get results like that, and you get a performance like that as a collective, I’m sure it’s going to help us build for the next couple of years as well. I’m proud of the way the whole team gelled tonight,” he said.

The Bulls have now boosted their chances of getting into the knockout stages of the Champions Cup. They are in third place with 10 points in Pool 1.

Home away from home

White revealed that should they reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup, they have chosen to play their fixture at Ashton Gate.

“A South African side can’t host a semi-final, so we chose Aston Gate as our home ground,” he said.

“If we win at Loftus (against Bordeaux) and play the next two games (the last 16 and last eight) at Loftus, the next game will be at Ashton Gate. We are not shareholders in the EPCR, so as non-shareholders, the semi-final has to be based in Europe. 

“I picked Ashton Gate because it’s a big stadium, we’ll get a lot of people in and we will get half the gate taking. Number two, I think it’s a nice field, nice stadium, and I knew chances of getting Bristol again in the competition would be minimal.”

The Bulls will host Top14 side Bordeaux at Loftus Versfeld in their final pool stage fixture on Saturday.