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White to measure his Bulls side against Saracens
“I will have a good feeling (about where we are as a team) after the game and after the other weekend games."
Bulls youngster Cameron Hanekom will start at No.8 against Saracens in the Champions Cup. Picture: Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
Bulls director of rugby Jake White says he will use Saturday’s Champions Cup showdown with Saracens at Loftus Versfeld to measure where his team are at in the club rugby ecosystem.
White’s side welcome one of the most successful rugby clubs in the game to Loftus Versfeld, Saracens being one of the giants of the English game and winners of the Champions Cup on three occasions.
They’re a team stacked with internationals and will test the Bulls in every department.
Big game
How the Bulls will measure up against the England-laden Saracens team will give White an idea of how far his charges have come since last season and what’s needed for them to reach the levels of the likes of Saracens.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than playing Saracens at home in the opening round of the tournament at 7.30pm,” White said on Friday ahead of the clash. “What I’m excited about is – I want to see where we are.
“I will have a good feeling (about where we are as a team) after the game and after the other weekend games.
“That will help me in the recruiting in the next couple of years and it will help me in understanding where we are as a rugby club. I’m looking forward to being able to measure ourselves against a team like Saracens because of the uniqueness of the way they play and success they have had.”
White, who won the Challenge Cup during his time with French club Montpellier, has plenty of knowledge about Saracens’ pedigree on the field and in the Champions Cup.
“Barcelona of rugby”
The Bulls mentor is hoping that the experience his team have gained during his time in rugby will show on Saturday.
“Saracens have got an incredible record in the Champions Cup. It’s almost like the Barcelona of rugby,” said the former Springboks coach.
“It’s going to be a wonderful ‘Test’ match. The learnings we have all made as a group in the last couple of seasons are going to have to be watertight on Saturday.
“We are going to get asked different questions, we are going to be tested in different areas we haven’t been tested before because of the way Saracens play. It’s well known their style is unique and they do it very well,” White said.
