After Limerick heroics, Bulls put Glasgow on notice

After their epic win against Munster in Limerick on Saturday, the Vodacom Bulls have put Glasgow Warriors on notice ahead of Friday night’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship showdown.

Coach Jake White made it quite clear while basking in the glory of the win over Munster that the Limerick result would have made no difference to their approach for the final week of their four week tour - a win in Glasgow is what they are aiming for.

It is clear the Bulls are still hurting from the loss in the final last year, where Glasgow outplayed them to win the URC and White has made it clear that this Friday’s game has been a focus for the team since they started their pre-season training so many months ago.

And the rewards are clear for the Bulls: four points behind Glasgow in third place, a win could see them move into second place, with two home games to finish the season and an easier run-in than the Scottish side that could secure them a home quarter and possible semifinal for the final weeks of the competition.

DECIDER FOR SECOND PLACE

The Bulls will feel confident having Welsh sides Cardiff and Dragons as their last two games while Glasgow have Benetton away and Leinster at home as their run-in to the playoffs, making this weekend’s game a de-facto decider for second spot.

Glasgow will know that as well and will be prepared, even though they struggled to a win against Zebre in Parma on Saturday night. They will know the physical challenge that the Bulls will bring and coach Franco Smith will have his charges prepared for the battle.

White said that while he was overjoyed at the win in Limerick, the real focus again was this Friday, and he made no bones about it.

“Nothing today would changed the importance of next week’s game,” White said after the Munster victory.

“After losing that final everyone wrote on their wall 25 April 2025, because we lost a final and we always knew the next time we play them we have an opportunity to play as well as we can.

“It is nice to go with momentum and with a positiveness, but I can promise you the 25th of April was always going to be the game that we were going to go hard for.”

SIX DAY TURNAROUND

White will count the cost of the victory on Monday, and know what he has to work with, but also admitted that this week - week four of their tour - was always going to be the week where the workload would be a bit lighter for his heavies.

A six-day turnaround to a Friday game made that all the more important, and the Bulls will focus more on rest and recovery and puting the final nuances right on their game plan to ensure they are ready for Glasgow this Friday.

Yet the victory in Limerick stands out in the season where the Bulls have played better away from home than they have at home. The momentum they achieved from the win, and the guts it showed to stop a 17-phase onslaught at the end was sensational and White was smiling all the way at the way the Bulls showed they wanted to win.

“Last week was a quarterfinal and we were really up for it, so I can’t question that we went in with any less intent or desire to do well, so I’m just glad there was a reaction from last week’s loss. There was obviously a lot at stake in trying to get a semifinal.

"But there is no better result than getting a win away from home against Munster because that can only help you with your mental approach going into a game against the champions of last year.”

And that game is Friday and the Bulls - by their own admission - have been waiting for it for the entire season.

Revenge may be too strong a word given the fact it is a league game, but there will be plenty of motivation going into the match.

And the Limerick win just upped that ante for the Bulls.