Edinburgh look to discipline as they hope to beat Bulls for first time in Pretoria

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt said his side had focused on discipline ahead of their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday (kick-off 1.30pm).

Everitt said winning penalties and kicking for touch would prove paramount at altitude as he hopes to get a personal 3-1 record against his former mentor, Jake White, whom he likened to a work colleague now.

The teams clash for the third time this season, with each taking the honours at home – the Bulls in the league phase of the URC and Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup quarterfinal last month.

Historically, Edinburgh have won three of the five games played between the sides, with each team taking the win at home to make it 3-2. However, Everitt has only been at the helm of the Scottish outfit for three of those contests since joining Edinburgh in 2023.

Getting one over his ‘good friend’

Everitt joined Edinburgh after being a consultant for the Bulls under White for a few months. Before that, he acted as assistant coach under White at the Sharks in 2013 and 2014. The two have remained friends since then and ahead of their fixture they each told media they were going to braai on the eve of their match and watch the Stormers game against Glasgow Warriors on Friday night.

“He invited me to his place. Jake and I are good friends. We won’t be talking rugby. It’s more of a catch-up and braai some meat on the fire and watch a bit of rugby but we won’t be talking tactics,” the South African said.

Talking tactics, Everitt said Edinburgh had been successful in their previous outing against the Bulls because of their excellent completion rate, scoring points in 84% of the times they were in the Bulls 22.

In order to repeat that, they needed to win many penalties and concede only a few.

Discipline is vital because we give away a penalty, from 60m out they can put it into your 22. Likewise for us, putting pressure on them defensively, winning penalties. So the territory game is very important.

“So with completion, we were 84% against the Bulls in the 22 the last time we played. So if we can have that completion again, we will be on the right side of the scoreboard.”

Everitt and White will share a beer after the game

Everitt said both he and White had done their preparation and it was now up to the players in leadership to carry the day. That was why they could now rest and enjoy each other’s company.

“There’s not much for coaches to do on game day apart from run the substitutes and making sure the players stick to task. Jake and I have known each other for many years, we’ve coached together at the Sharks and Bulls together.

“Our friendship has grown. I suppose when you are colleagues at work, it is similar to our relationship.”

He said they both take their jobs very seriously and have had “some really good battles” in the past.

“Hopefully we can go 3–1 against Jake tomorrow. It would certainly be great to have a beer with him after the game.”