‘We missed an opportunity’: White gutted by Bulls defeat in URC final

“We will be there next year, that I can tell you.”

These were the parting words of Bulls director of rugby Jake White during his post-match press conference following his team’s 21-16 defeat to the Glasgow Warriors in the Grand Final of the United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

The nature of the loss left White and his team with a sombre feeling, as it was their second URC final defeat in three seasons.

Their excellent campaign in the URC ended with a heartbreaking loss in front of 50,388 fans in Pretoria.

Missed opportunity

White was frank when facing the media, showing raw emotion. His body language and tone contrasted his usual demeanour during such engagements.

“I’m unhappy, I’m disappointed,” White began.

“I’m an older guy; I have to teach the youngsters that we missed an opportunity tonight. If I’m honest about where we are—three years, two finals with a young team. Every guy that came on for the Glasgow Warriors is an international, and we are not there yet.

“I told them in the changeroom that when you get older, sometimes you realise you missed an opportunity. We will be back, I know it. It’s probably tougher for me as I get older; I start to work things out in my head.”

Second-half collapse

The Bulls were leading 13-0 for 39 minutes, thanks to a Marco van Staden try and eight points from Johan Goosen’s boot. They were in control of the match.

However, the Warriors scored a try in the last minute of the first half and added two more in the second half. The Bulls could not shift gears in the second stanza, adding only three points to lose 21-16.

For a coach who’s won the Rugby World Cup and had the longevity of White, he found himself questioning his performance in finals after the loss.

“I’ve lost the Super Rugby final, the Rainbow Cup, and two URC finals, so I probably need to look at what I have to do as a coach to get over the line.

“I don’t know what it is yet; I’ll wait until tomorrow and think about it. The thing that hurts me is I have had so many finals, I just wonder if I’m missing a trick.”