'I would be amazed if any South African side will have the firepower to beat those teams'
Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White dropped a bombshell on Tuesday by stating that the odds are ‘stacked’ against a South African team winning the European Cup.
White, addressing the media after naming a largely fringe selection to travel to England and tackle Exeter Chiefs in a Round Two fixture, poured cold water on expectations of SA teams dominating in Europe as they did in the United Rugby Championship.
He also revealed that teams from the Republic will have to travel in the play-offs.
White decided to give the Lyon vanquishers a chance to “build” on what they did at Loftus Versfeld last week.
He made it clear that the travel factor played a huge role in his selection.
The Bulls boss pointed to their loss in the United Rugby Championship Final as a prime example of how travel can impact on a performance.
“We played Leinster in the semifinal [in Dublin] and travelled back economy class,” he said of his team’s heartbreaking loss to the Stormers in Cape Town.
“We learnt a lot from that,” he said.
“We have the Stormers next Friday [in a URC match in Cape Town],” he said, adding: “There is no way we can fly via Doha, arrive tomorrow [Wednesday night], play in Exeter, fly out Sunday morning and arrive here midday Monday and then expect us to be ready for the Stormers game”
He said they ‘respect’ Exeter, but have to be at their best for the Stormers as well.
“This doesn’t mean we are going into the game [against Exeter] saying it doesn’t count.
“It is about doing what we think is best for our group.
“We would like to do well in both the Champions Cup and the United Rugby Championship but we must also be honest with ourselves in understanding the demanding travelling schedule.”
The Bulls’ Director of Rugby said he is also a realist and suggested that the odds are stacked against South African teams winning the European Cup.
“For you to win the Champions Cup, you need to beat Toulouse, Leinster and La Rochelle on three consecutive weekends,” he said.
“I don’t want to be a defeatist, but you have to be realistic.
“Do we have the squads in South Africa that can match La Rochelle, Toulouse and Leinster on three consecutive weekends away from home?” White asked – pointing out that the participation agreement means South African teams have to travel abroad from the quarterfinal rounds and beyond.
The Bulls boss said someone who believes you can beat the likes of Toulouse, La Rochelle and Leinster away from home on consecutive Saturdays is “disconnected from reality”.
“I would be amazed if any South African side will have the firepower to [beat those teams back-to-back].
“A one-off game maybe you can beat a top side,” said – as his team did in last year’s URC semifinal against Leinster in Dublin.
“However, to back it up week-after-week-after-week-after-week at the end of a long season and play three teams that have a budget of ZAR180-million, as opposed to a budget of ZAR70-million, we are kidding ourselves.
“It doesn’t mean you go into every game saying: ‘It doesn’t count’.
“It also doesn’t mean I say the URC is more important.
“It is about using the resources that are at your disposal.
“We want to win as many times as we can.
“When they [Exeter] come to visit us in January in 40-degree weather, coming out of their winter, it will be a daunting task for them.
“Maybe then I will play my strongest team at home and it give us a chance to find a way into the top 16 of the competition,” White added.
White pointed out that the run of away matches – Exeter, the Stormers, the Sharks, the Dragons, Lyon and Scarlets – as opportunities to give the entire squad some game time in pressure matches.
The side that is travelling to Exeter is beaming with confidence after an enthralling win over Lyon at Loftus.
However, White is expecting a tough clash against the side that is hard to beat at home.
“They were [European Cup] champions two years ago and they have internationals in almost every position .
“We are playing in a tough venue to win at, but I am expecting us to roll up our sleeves, to embrace the fact that we are going to a place where things will be tough but we must stand as men and give it a fair crack.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments