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An upbeat Jake White is confident the Vodacom Bulls can address their set-piece issues on the back of a 2024-25 Vodacom URC-opening victory in Pretoria on Saturday.
The Herd kicked off their campaign with a 22-16 win over Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld. Despite his troops struggling at scrum and lineout time, the Bulls director of rugby remains optimistic that these hiccups will be rectified as the season progresses.
“It’s things we can fix, that’s what I think. Scrums and lineouts we’ve been generally good at, and it’s something we’ll look at, but we can definitely fix it, I’ve no doubt in my mind,” White said post-match.
He acknowledged that the Bulls have had tough encounters with Edinburgh in recent years, making this victory all the more significant. “First time we’ve played [in the URC this season], and we’ve struggled to beat Edinburgh the last few years. We’ve lost twice there and beat them just, just here at home.”
The Bulls led 12-10 at half time on Saturday, but were trailing after the restart before Canan Moodie’s try and five points from Boeta Chamberlain secured the win in the final quarter. White credited his team’s ability to fight back in the last 20 minutes, especially while playing with 14 men after a yellow card was shown to Simphiwe Matanzima.
RECAP: Bulls kick off URC campaign in style
“Defensively I thought we were outstanding; when we had 14 guys we kept them out, kept them out, got a turnover, kicked a 50:22, took a quick lineout and scored,” White said. “One thing you can’t underestimate is that Edinburgh have a great attack… If they only scored one try against us today that tells you something.”
White also emphasised the importance of securing the opening-round win, particularly with several frontline players away on Springbok duty. “We’ve got about nine Springboks who are not here and a couple of injuries,” he noted.
“It’s a test for us as a group, and the mood in the changing room is positive. They know the things we got wrong we can get right, and the things we did well will help us build and become an even stronger team.”
Reflecting on the Bulls’ decision-making late in the game, White drew lessons from the Lions’ 2024 Currie Cup final loss, where a risky last-minute decision cost the Pride the game: “If you can recall last week in the Currie Cup final the Lions turned over a maul lineout and ended up losing the game. The lessons learnt there were: let’s take the four points, let’s not get arrogant, and it’s a long season to go.”
With Ulster heading to Loftus next week and the return of Boks expected in the coming weeks, White believes the Bulls are well-positioned to build on Saturday’s result.
“The mood in the changing room is different, to finding a way to win even though we weren’t at our best. Next week, hopefully after all the Test matches, we get some of our Springboks back and put them together with the young talent we’ve blooded,” he concluded.
Photo: @BlueBullsRugby/Twitter
