The Bulls beat the Stormers for the first time in Cape Town in the URC this past weekend. Photo: Henk Kruger Independent Media
The Bulls won’t rest on their laurels despite flying high in the United Rugby Championship (URC) after a morale-boosting and campaign-defining first-ever win over the Stormers this past weekend.
While they will take things by the game, according to Director of Rugby Jake White, the next couple of local derbies could hold the key to his side pushing for the second place on the overall points log. They currently sit in third only two points off of defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors.
The #VURC standings ahead of #OriginRound this weekend 📊 pic.twitter.com/XNVwwbwqST
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 10, 2025
They come up against a rested Sharks side in Pretoria on Saturday, and despite being back home, White has warned that they have to be wary of not becoming too comfortable with where they are.
A home run of five games awaits the Loftus side in the URC over the next two months and that could determine where they end up on the log. They will face the Sharks, Stormers, and Lions, before meeting log-leaders Leinster and the lowly-placed Zebre at Fort Loftus.
This sequence of games could put South Africa’s form team in a prime position looking at the play-offs.
“We’ve only played two home games and that says a lot (where we are on the log).”
“We’ve only played two home games and that says a lot (where we are on the log),” White said.
“If you can be near the top of the table, having only played two home games, you put yourself in a good position. But, I don’t want you to think I’m saying if we play at home, therefore we will win. It doesn’t work like that. You are still going to have to play well.
“Having gone through the Currie Cup, getting a draw (in the URC) like we did where we played seven games away from home, and you said we will be second or third or around the top of the log, I would have taken it.
“One of the things I said to the players is we want to be at our best during the last three weeks of the competition.”
“One of the things I said to the players is we want to be at our best during the last three weeks of the competition.”
White, though, said they will take things on a week-to-week basis going forward not wanting to think too far into the future.
They still have the Challenge Cup knockouts to navigate, but being in a strong URC position might mean that the European Tier 2 competition will have to be put on the back-burner if push comes to shove.
🔥#BokBuster SHOWDOWN🔥
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) February 10, 2025
🏆Vodacom Bulls vs Hollywoodbets Sharks
📅 Saturday, 15 February 2025
⏰ Kick-off: 17:00
A clash you CAN'T miss 👀💣
🎟 Secure your seats NOW ➡️ https://t.co/m0aR7qpPm9 @Vodacom #URC | @URCOfficial_RSA #BokBuster | #FillUpLoftus pic.twitter.com/Iz0D2uR8g2
The play-offs will only be in April and it’s an away game in France, which means travelling and player welfare will come into play then. White said they will tackle those conundrums head-on when it arrives.
For now, the Pretoria side wants to fill up Loftus Versfeld for the rematch against the Sharks. They lost against a depleted Durban outfit in December at Kings Park, so they will be eager to set the record straight on Saturday.