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After beating Munster and Ulster and scoring four tries against the Sharks, Jake White was realistic about what he expected from Zebre.
Bulls boss Jake White says they will not be overconfident against Zebre. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Bulls director of rugby Jake White said the Bulls might have been at risk of feeling overconfident as they prepare to host 15th-ranked side Zebre, if not for the Italian side’s excellent showing against the Sharks last week.
In fact, White said if Zebre play how they did when they almost beat the Sharks – and how they did when they beat Munster and Ulster earlier in the season – they would have a good chance of beating the Bulls.
The Bulls take on the Italians in their round 14 United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Loftus on Saturday (kick-off 2.45pm).
It comes a week after the side second from the bottom of the table almost beat the 4th-placed Sharks at home. After coming from 28–17 behind at the break to holding the lead for much of the second half, they were pipped right at the end to fall 35–34.
Zebre earned bonus points for scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of the Sharks.
White told media on Friday his side were confident after their own 21–20 win over URC leaders Leinster last week. But they were not overconfident.
“In a lot of ways that result [Sharks-Zebre] also takes away any bit of overconfidence you think would have crept in,” he said.
“If you look at what they’ve done in the season and what they did last week, by coming so close against the Sharks team, they’d beat us.”
However, the Bulls coach backed his players, and said Zebre would likely struggle to play in the Pretoria afternoon heat against a team that has a great set-piece as well as an attacking game.
“I want to win and I want to keep controlling our destiny.
“What I mean by that is the more win, the more chance we have of hosting a play-off. The more chance of hosting a play-off, the more financial gain we get and the more we can play in front of our supporters.”
He said with three home and two away games left in the URC, the Bulls could not afford to be complacent about any match.
“We’ve toured really well in the last few years in the URC so hopefully while we can still control our destiny we want the supporters to have the belief that we can still be playing a final, semi-final or quarter-final in Pretoria.”
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