‘We were not at our best,’ admits Bulls coach Jake White after loss to Northampton

A visibly frustrated Bulls coach Jake White admitted his players are struggling to grasp the enormity of playing in the Champions Cup and they were not good enough during the 30-21 loss to Northampton Saints at Loftus on Saturday. 

The Bulls have lost their opening two matches and they are faced with a mountain to climb to revive their campaign and push for the play-offs as the tournament gains momentum over the coming weeks. 

White said his players must get used to playing against some of the world's best players, mostly with vast Test rugby experience, in this tournament. 

“This is Test rugby in club or provincial jerseys and when you make a mistake at Test level you are made to pay for it,” he said. 

“Look at what happened, we had a penalty just before halftime and it is our line — out, they chuck it over and get seven points. This is what happens when you play at the highest level and against some of the best players.” 

White said his players struggled under the pressure but he will continue throwing them into the deep end to gain valuable experience. 

“It is not something they [Bulls players] are struggling to grasp, it is something they don't appreciate because they have not been under that sort of pressure every week. When you put many guys who have played many minutes of Test rugby together, that's the kind of pressure you have to cope with.

“You have Scott Young coming in as a replacement and he is a Test player. Are they [Bulls players] struggling to grasp it? I think so and how do we fix it? There is only one way and that is to keep on putting them into the deep end.

“There is no other way, you can't simulate it at training because when you make a mistake they pounce.” 

Looking back at the costly home loss, White said they didn’t take their early chances. 

“I have just said to them now, you can't just talk and talk. Every week we say let's not give penalties away, let's not give them entries into our 22, let's be understanding about how we want to play the game and all that sort of stuff. 

“I am frustrated because we had all the chances in the beginning of the match and I think what people, even our players, must understand is that in this competition these are some of the best club rugby players in the world. 

“When you don't take your chances or you are not on top of your game, they will find a way to beat you. I am not taking anything way from Northampton, they were semi-finalists last year and they have taken his competition seriously. 

“They brought their big guns here as well and we were not good enough and that is as simple as that. There is no use trying to find excuses, we had opportunities and we didn't take them.”