Winning at home no guarantee, White warns his Bulls

As the Bulls embark on a journey to make the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup, their director of rugby Jake White has warned that their last 16 encounter against Lyon on Saturday (1.30pm kickoff) at Loftus Versfeld won’t be an easy task.

The Pretoria-based side did well in the Champions Cup pool stages, finishing in second place in Pool 1 after winning three games and losing one, and that defeat came against this weekend’s opponents Lyon. 

The Bulls got the benefit of a home playoff after finishing high in their pool.

No guarantee at home

With home advantage being a huge factor in knockout rugby, there’s an air of expectation that the Bulls will put Lyon away. However, White was quick to dismiss that notion, arguing that there had been a lot of famous away wins in the European Cup in the past.

“Statistically, it’s not as often as it is in other competitions,” said White when asked about home advantage.

“If you look at the French Top14, the URC (United Rugby Championship) in the last three seasons, home ground by stats is a massive bonus. I think when you get to these big games (in the Champions Cup) it’s a bit like Test rugby. There’s no guarantee that you’ll win Test matches. Now it’s the best against the best.

“If you look at this competition historically, a lot of away teams have won big games and big stadiums as well, unlike other competitions.”

Bouncing back

The former Springbok coach is looking for a reaction from his players after the 47-14 defeat they got at the hands of Leinster in the URC last weekend.

A win will secure their first last-eight spot in the Champions Cup.

“It’s a rebound thing. The really good teams, in any sport, if they had a result like last week, there has to be a reaction. Good teams do those things,” White said.

“If we play well, we’ll win and go to the top eight. We got knocked out this time last year (in the round of 16) and it’s all about progression.”