Jake White: Bulls showed they have learned resilience, composure

Bulls director of rugby Jake White said his team demonstrated they have grasped how to fight back, following their victory over Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final at Loftus on Saturday.

The Bulls came back from a 21–8 deficit against the Scottish powerhouse, who capitalised on a Sebastian de Klerk yellow card to score three tries in the first half hour. Once the Bulls took the lead for the first time early in the second half, they didn’t lose it.

The Bulls smartened their attack and mixed up their usual set-piece focus to win by six tries to five, with the final score 42–33.

This came after the Bulls almost recovered from a 24–7 deficit against the same opposition in the Challenge Cup quarter-final in April, eventually falling just short at 34–28. At the time, White said it had taken time for the players to adjust to Edinburgh, and if they had five more minutes in the game, they would have won.

Bulls were ‘dead and buried’

“A 21–8 we were dead and buried,” White said after Saturday’s result, which will see the Bulls host their semi-final next weekend. “Sean [Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt] said he wanted a good start and they got a good one. I am just very thankful that with their good start, we won.”

White said he did not scream and shout at his players during half-time as that would have accomplished nothing. Instead, he told them they had to hold onto the ball better and decided to trust them to finish the game with the control and composure they were capable of, despite some hard calls against them from the referee.

Doing so proved they had learned resilience since their Challenge Cup exit.

The Bulls also surprised their opponents by breaking out of mauls early after building much of their success this season on forward pack dominance. White said the Bulls team from three seasons ago would not have shown this versatility, and it shows another area they have grown in.

Willie le Roux leads the way for the Bulls

Bulls veteran Willie le Roux earned man of the match for his playmaking during the day, his kicks running the Edinburgh defence ragged and a line break from the fullback culminating in a try.

“We certainly were in trouble in the first half,” Le Roux said. “We had to regroup, play in the right areas, get our kicking game going. That forced them to make mistakes inside their half, which we capitalised on.”

Captain Ruan Nortje echoed those sentiments, saying they had to exert more pressure in the contestables after a lacklustre opening 20 minutes.