Jake White has challenged the Vodacom Bulls to click against their United Rugby Championship nemeses, the DHL Stormers in Pretoria on Saturday.
White’s Bulls have yet to beat the Stormers in the Vodacom URC and go into the North-South derby on the back of a seven-game losing streak against their Cape rivals.
During a media session at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday, White conceded the Stormers have simply been better than the Bulls over the past couple of years. However, he also challenged his team to shake the hoodoo and replicate standout performances against the likes of Saracens and Bordeaux.
“They have had our number in this competition, to be fair. But they’ve had the number of a lot of teams,” White said.
“They are the form team of this competition. They played two finals, won one and lost the other narrowly. What they do, they do very well. They have a very settled coaching staff that have been together for 10 to 15 years, coaching the Vodacom Cup and junior ranks.
“We are getting better and I’m much happier about where we are now in year three, compared to where we were in year one.
“We need to simply play our best rugby. We’ve never really played well against them. They don’t allow you to play well, because they are a very good defensive side.
“But we played Saracens here and played well, we played Bordeaux here and played very well and we also played well against Leinster – it doesn’t matter what calibre side that was. The one team we haven’t clicked against is the Stormers. We have to find a way to nullify the things they do well. That’s the message, we have to play as well as we know we can.
“I’m not even worried about [the losing streak], because they are the form team of the competition,” White added. “Since this has started, they’ve played in two finals. Leinster are the most complete team in this competition and they haven’t done that.
“You have to give the Stormers credit for what they’ve achieved. A lot of teams haven’t got it right against them. I don’t talk about how long, where and how many. It’s another game. We’ve played well against good teams at Loftus. I’m just expecting us to grow as a group and get better and better, which we are. I have a lot more confidence that our side has grown.”
White confirmed that he will make his selections from a playing squad relatively unscathed by injury, with experienced tighthead prop Wilco Louw back from a shoulder injury in a massive boost to the pack. It also means that veteran fullback Willie le Roux will return to join fellow Springboks Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie in the lineup.
“Everyone is fit and available – as in our Springboks,” White said. “We have a couple of niggles that I’m not going to risk. But I’m happy with how we’ve rotated. Guys have put pressure on each other and nobody expects to walk into the lineup.
“We could’ve played Canan a couple of weeks ago, when he came back, but we didn’t think he was ready so we went with another winger and got a result. I can tell you, Canan can’t wait to play, because he realises there is competition for his jersey.”
The post Jake lays down derby gauntlet appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
