White eyes Loftus run of the Bulls

Already happy with the fact that they secured Investec Champions Cup qualification for next year, the Vodacom Bulls have now set their sights on trying to secure a home run for as long as possible in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

The Bulls' big win over the Ospreys on the weekend secured their place in the top eight and now, with three rounds to go and a week off this week as attention turns to Champions Cup action again, they are relishing their chances.

While it is unlikely they will finish on top, mathematically, if a few other results go their way, they certainly have a chance. And with Glasgow Warriors, Benetton and the Hollywoodbets Sharks as their last three opponents in the competition, they certainly don’t have it easy.

But Director of Rugby Jake White was all smiles after the win over the Ospreys and now was looking forward to getting his squad together for as big a home run into the playoffs as possible.

And with two weeks to plan for Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors’ arrival, he was keen to use the next fortnight well.

“The next game could be us against them and that will be massive. Because what you want is to play as many home games as possible on the way to the playoffs. What this result does is that we are in the top eight,” White said.

“What the next result will determine is how long we will stay in Pretoria and play here in this competition. That's the nice thing to play for in the next few weekends. We have two to play for at Loftus and one in Durban.

'FIRST BOX HAS BEEN TICKED'

“We are in the top eight. So the first box has been ticked. We are now in the playoffs. And now it is working out, performance-wise how far we can go playing in Pretoria. It can happen that we win all three games and the other teams slip up and we end up playing a final in Pretoria.

“If it doesn’t happen and we win all three and the other teams win and we come second or third, then that is the way it is. At least the first hurdle has been achieved.

“That has been for Europe next year, in the top eight for the third year in a row. Now it is just about making it as easy or difficult for ourselves.”

White is also keen to get back some of his stalwarts who have been missing through injury, with captain Ruan Nortje likely to be back for the Glasgow game, as is Marco van Staden. With Jannes Kirsten making a cameo off the bench against Ospreys in his first appearance since joining the Bulls, White has a few options in his pack to play around with.

But for now, he is a very happy coach considering where his team stand at the moment.

“If we got pumped today I would be saying to you ‘geez guys’ - you would rather be where you are now, after a performance like that, with the club on a high.

“Hopefully we get a few guys back for the Glasgow game. A guy like Ruan Nortje, Marco van Staden and Sebastian de Klerk - hopefully, we get them back because they weren’t available today. I’d much rather be where we are now.”

And with a week off, the Bulls will be all smiles until they get back to work next week in preparation for the Scottish log leaders.