Comeback kings, the Bulls, turn their attention to Sharks in URC semi-final

After the Bulls had beaten Edinburgh and before the Sharks had kicked off against Munster, Jake White was asked which team he would prefer to play in this week’s semi-final.

“I do have a preference,” the Bulls coach said. “If I wear my commercial hat, I want the Sharks to come to Loftus because we will get a full house.

“If I am wearing my other hat, I wouldn’t mind playing Munster. I suppose I am talking myself into a corner here. What I am trying to say is that you have to beat whoever comes here if you think you are good enough to win this competition.”

White has his wish. It is the Sharks, and Loftus will almost certainly sell out – not just because it is a semi-final, but because the Sharks enjoy widespread support on the Highveld.

White was pleased with the resilience shown by his side in fighting back from 8-21 to comfortably win 42-33. It was an uncharacteristically slow start from the Bulls, and this is a key area White will want to rectify against the Sharks.

The funny thing is that Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt told the media during the week that his side had targeted a fast start, yet the Bulls didn’t react and found themselves in a dangerous position after the first quarter.

“Sean wanted a fast start and he got it,” White admitted.

“I’m just thankful that we could overcome it and win. They were 21 points to eight up and the final score was forty-something to 33.

“That means from eight to forty-something, we played a lot more rugby in that block than them. That is pleasing for our group.”

Not long after half-time, the Bulls scored three tries in 11 minutes to take the game away from the Scots. In explaining the sudden turnaround, White brought up his favourite topic: the altitude.

The Bulls have a sign in the tunnel at Loftus Versfeld: “Altitude. 1350m. It matters.” It is one of the last things the opposition players see as they run out, and it is a ploy to get in their heads.

“Maybe it was the altitude that did the trick,” White smiled, before adding, “although you guys say there is no altitude.

“So, maybe it was the altitude that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe it caught them in the mauling and scrumming.”

White said he had had two buzzwords for the players to digest for the quarter-final.

“The two words I was big on for today were control and composure. We needed to have control and have composure because these are the things big players have in big games.

“For the first 25 minutes, those were the two things it looked like we didn’t have. But for the next 55 minutes, that was the most composed we have been all year. I’d just like us to have it from start to finish in the semi-final.”