Jake White has expressed his delight with the EPCR’s decision to introduce an extra break in the Champions Cup playoffs, after the Vodacom Bulls were decisively beaten in the quarter-finals.
White was writing in a column for RugbyPass, where he “cleared things up” around his decision to make 14 changes to his lineup for the Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton Saints.
The Vodacom Bulls, without captain Marcell Coetzee and Springbok stars Elrigh Louw, Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, suffered a 59-22 defeat, with northern hemisphere pundits arguing that White had disrespected the competition by making so many changes.
Having investigated the decision, the EPCR has prompted its member clubs and unions to introduce a break between the round of 16 and the quarter-finals, easing the travel burden on South African teams.
“After the results on the weekend, privately, it was agreed that the knockouts need a week’s break in between round 16 and the last eight. From a logistical point of view, I must applaud that,” White wrote for RugbyPass.
“Decision-makers have seen that it isn’t fair for a team to travel those distances with that tight turnaround. Indeed, perhaps those scorelines needed to happen for people to understand the schedule’s imperfections.”
The Bulls weren’t the only to suffer from the travel burden as two-time defending champions La Rochelle were soundly beaten by Leinster in Dublin, in a rematch of last season’s final.
The star-studded French club had to make the trip to Dublin after playing an intense round of 16 match against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town, which went down to the final kick of the game.
“I ask you, how does a two-time winner go from being the best team in the tournament to losing 40-13 and not scoring a point in the second-half in Dublin? Can you go from majestic to mediocre in that space of time?” White asked.
“No, it’s got to do with traipsing to Cape Town and back again. It comes at a cost.”
Photo: Paul Harding/Getty Images
The post Jake ‘applauds’ Champs Cup change appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
