Bulls have what it takes to go one better and win the URC: Jake White

Jake White has put down a marker by saying he is convinced the Bulls have reached a stage where they can challenge for the United Rugby Championship (URC) title.

The Bulls suffered heartbreak losing in two finals in the past three years to local rivals the Stormers (2021-22) and Glasgow Warriors (2023-24) in the URC final, but White said they approach this campaign in the best possible shape.

The Bulls, whose URC campaign started with a 22-16 win against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld this weekend, host Ulster in their second match at Loftus on Saturday.

White said his confidence emanates from having assembled a balanced squad. 

“Everyone in our circles would accept we have exceeded our expectations in the first three seasons having played in two URC finals, given we have had a young and inexperienced squad,” he said. 

“We’ve made some good additions to our squad who have blended in nicely, and we also have eight or nine players in the Springbok set-up for the first time in a long while. 

“We have had relatively inexperienced players such as Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw and Canan Moodie winning two Tests in a row against the All Blacks. The kind of confidence and learning they will have got there will help us going into big games and play-off matches in the URC, where we need to win.

“In a short space of time, literally three URC campaigns, we have nine players in the South Africa squad.” 

White said the experience of playing in URC finals and having returning Springbok players will provide notable advantages for his team.

“That will make us so much stronger because we can almost pick a Springbok in every position, which is a great situation to be in when you want to win the competition.” 

The Bulls have done good business in the market by recruiting lock Cobus Wiese (Sale), lock/flanker Sintu Manjezi (Glasgow), flanker Nama Xaba (DHL Stormers), prop Alulutho Tshakweni (Cheetahs), flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain (Sharks) and winger Aphiwe Dyantyi (Sharks). 

“You look for the right kind of player as a person, someone who fits into the way your club wants to develop,” White said. 

“We are very fortunate we have added much more seasoned campaigners, guys such as Aphiwe Dyantyi, who is coming in as a Springbok winger, a guy like Cobus Wiese coming in as a seasoned Premiership player. You saw what Akker van der Merwe did last year joining from Sale, you saw what Marcel Coetzee did coming back from overseas at Ulster. 

“The secret is making sure you get the balance between youth and experience, and I would say this year is probably the closest we have been to the ideal combination we are looking for. 

“We have youngsters such as Cameron Hanekom and we have the middle-age group sorted as well, which will make us much stronger and allow us to have much more depth in our squad selections.” 

After beating Benetton Rugby and Leinster Rugby in the quarter and semifinals at the end of last season, the Bulls came up short in the final at Loftus, losing 21-16 to Glasgow. 

“I reflected a lot with the group after the final and I think what really hit me and what hit the squad was we underestimated the value of playing. In the last game of the regular season, we played the Sharks, who had a really strong Springbok-laden group,” said White. 

“We then played Benetton who have a majority of the Italy players, then Leinster who have the majority of the Ireland players and then we played Glasgow, who have lots and lots of international players as well. 

“I think the collective attrition and effort it took to play four consecutive games like that took it out of us in the final. You wouldn’t play South Africa, Italy, Ireland and Scotland with the same group of players and you wouldn’t expect to win all the games. 

“That’s why I am talking about the depth in our squad, the additions we have made to our team and about the average age of the group going up. That’s why I am mentioning the Springboks who have become a bit more gun-hardened.  

“Last season went well, the planning worked spot on. We got a home final. I think what happened in the last game was a collective thing of what happened in the last month of the tournament. 

“It was probably a bridge too far, but I’m hoping with the squad we have we will be a bit tougher to last four weeks at that level and also be able to change the squad around in the season, so we don’t lose our legs in the back end of the competition.”