'La Rochelle's pack is 1,000kgs, so I learned a lot of things'
Jake White was keen to emphasise how one swallow doesn’t make a summer, that a URC semi-final win over Leinster can’t be the be-all and end-all of the Bulls’ maiden season in the revamped PRO14 that was dominated the past four years by the Irish province. And yet, despite his insistence that there is one more hurdle to vault, there was so much to admire in Friday night’s relentless RDS running of the Bulls.
It was 37 weeks ago, down the road at the nearby Aviva Stadium, where the Bulls were last let loose in Dublin. That was a chastening experience, a brutal first-game URC welcome where they fell 17 points behind inside 13 minutes and played the whole way through like they hadn’t got off the plane.
They certainly made their presence felt this time around, though, the one-point scoreboard margin (27-26) flattering the well-beaten Leinster whose consolation clock-in-the-red converted try misleadingly massaged the end-game numbers.
Mention of planes, that was an adventure in itself in the Bulls getting back to Ireland nine months after their first visit, the South Africans arriving in dribs and drabs via a multitude of different flights and spot-off points – Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Dubai were three places named by White – due to a lack of seats in getting in the air ASAP following their quarter-final win over the Sharks in Pretoria and making it up to Ireland in plenty time to sow it into the champions.
Their last-four game done, they must now wait and watch. A win for the Stormers on Saturday will see the Bulls back at the airport to commence their travel to Cape Town for next weekend’s showpiece final, an all-South African decider that would be one in the eye for the critics who said the presence of these southern hemisphere franchises in a European tournament was nothing but a gimmick.
??? @BlueBullsRugby pic.twitter.com/TS79jj3V8x
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) June 10, 2022
Of course, that derby deal isn’t yet sealed. A win for Ulster would see them become the highest-ranked team in the final and bag them the hosting rights, radically altering the Bulls’ fluid travel plans as a 160km bus ride north up the Irish M1 would be all that is needed to whisk them to Belfast rather than a 10,000kms plane journey south.
While the Bulls wait and see what unfolds, let’s allow White to wallow in the significance of their humbling of Leinster. “It’s up there,” said the World Cup-winning coach when asked to rank the success in the pantheon of his list of numerous great days of coaching. “It’s an incredible Leinster team that dominated European rugby the last couple of years.
“I looked at their record, 225 games in PRO14, lost 21. They are international players. What is really pleasing is we started with them in week one and the learnings and the understandings of what we needed to do the next time we played them were obviously evident. That is why I am so excited because it is not just the fact that we beat them, it’s that the group has grown significantly in the last nine months.”
Having watched La Rochelle decisively put the squeeze on Leinster 13 days earlier in the European final in Marseille, the wily White had his homework clinically done to ensure there was no repeat of last September’s 31-3 Dublin defeat, not even after the Bulls had slipped seven early points into arrears on a June night where the wild weather was four seasons in one.
“We have been very good in our forward play historically but I really enjoyed the interchanges, the first try, that little play and we scored, the interplay between backs and forwards. Generally, I am very happy because of the fact that we have learned so much. Our forward pack was outstanding, turned a couple of balls over.
“The key was not to give them any set-piece in the beginning so we didn’t kick the ball out, we kept the ball in. With the weather, there were some unforced errors by Leinster, they knocked the ball on a few times which they don’t generally do and that helped us as it broke the rhythm of their attack. It’s a great win but a couple of things did work in our favour.
“A lot has been said about Leinster over years. One thing they are very good at is they start very well and they generally build scoreboard pressure and get the other team to chase them. When we defended that first couple of minutes, turned the ball over, put the ball down the field, that changes the momentum of the game. All of a sudden we were up and the game becomes different. To be fair, Leinster showed they are also human. They had to chase the game and made one or two mistakes.”
The generous hosts certainly made multiple errors but the powerhouse reputation that the four-in-a-row champions Leinster have crafted over the years in this tournament is something White definitely covets. He sure wants his Bulls to be spoken in time with the same kind of reverence. “One swallow doesn’t make a summer,” he shrugged during his 20-minute post-game media briefing in Dublin.
? Marcell Coetzee is a try-machine ?#URC | #LEIvBUL | #AllFor1 | @BlueBullsRugby pic.twitter.com/tZfkmaeDhv
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) June 10, 2022
“We just won one game against Leinster. It’s great that our progression looks like it does but there are a lot more things I would like to do, a couple of signings we still want to get in place. The La Rochelle pack is probably 1,000 kilograms so there are a lot of things I learned there as well in terms of having a massive pack of forwards.
“We are not close to where we want to be but without being arrogant, playing in the URC final in year one and being in the semi-final of the Currie Cup back home is something that is fantastic for our union and we want to keep growing and keep getting better, no different to Leinster. Leo (Cullen) will say the same message.
“They felt short twice this year and it is not really like them but they will be a force to reckon with again. One thing that Leinster have proved is that it is not a one-hit-wonder, they will be in and about the playoffs next year like they were last year and the year before and that is what the Bulls have got to get to, the position where every time we are in a competition we have got to be there at the back end. So far so good but one swallow doesn’t make a summer.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments