Bulls have a lotto ticket, now they need to cash in against Leinster: White

Bulls coach Jake White believes his team can beat Leinster in Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) final, highlighting their defensive strength and senior players' experience.

The final will be played at Croke Park, which began life as Dublin's City and Suburban Racecourse, and White has highlighted the pedigree of the Irish side while pointing out his team are also thoroughbreds.

Leinster comfortably dispatched defending champions Glasgow Warriors 37-19 in their semifinal, while the Bulls beat the Sharks 25-13, finding it tough at times to subdue their defiant Durban opponents.

There was much relief at the end of the gruelling South African derby against their Springbok-laden arch-rivals, but the Bulls' celebrations were notably muted as they completed their home fixtures at Loftus Versfeld. That was probably due to a combination of exhaustion and the knowledge they had not produced the level of performance that would beat an elite team such as Leinster away from home.

White said he is pleased the feeling in his team's camp is that their race has not yet been run.

“I think they celebrated the way they should have because we have not won anything yet. A semifinal doesn't matter and we didn't win the South African Shield,” the 2007 World Cup-winning Bok coach said.

“If we had been vocal about beating the Sharks, it would have meant we had played our final, so I'm chuffed that didn't happen. It's good there were no laps of honour, but the players did go out and thank the fans because it was our last home game.

“I believe we are good enough to win the final, though beating Leinster away from home is never easy. They are loaded with internationals and British & Irish Lions, plus RG Snyman, Rabah Slimani and Jordie Barrett.

“We are playing against the form team, they have only lost twice in the URC this season. They have been the toughest team to play against the past four years and our players are going to be tested probably like they never have before.

“This is a different challenge, but previous results don't matter. We have a lotto ticket and you can't win if you don't have a ticket. We have a 50% chance of winning.

“We know how tough finals are and it's going to be like Ireland vs the Bulls. We can't underplay how good Leinster are. Look what they did to Glasgow, so I'm sure they'll be on a high.

“So we'll need to work hard and we will have to play well. It's when you expect your senior players to be really important.

“Willie le Roux, Marco van Staden and Canan Moodie are World Cup winners. We have guys who are experienced in playing in finals, they have paid their school fees and they can talk about what works and what doesn't.”

It was the Bulls' heroic defence, tested notably as they received three yellow cards in quick succession in the semifinal, that won the day against the Sharks.

The Durban side's coach, John Plumtree, though, admitted his frustration that his team's attack had been “off” in the semifinal. Leinster will surely pose a sterner defensive test.

“Leinster will move the ball around more, they won't be as direct as the Sharks. Their attack will be a different challenge, it's one of the best,” White said.

“But when we had 12 men we managed to keep the Sharks out and that last five minutes of the first half was when we won the game.

“Knockout rugby is about the arm wrestle, staying in the fight. The way you win the battle is by doing the things you're good at, not the extraordinary stuff.

“A guy such as Cobus Wiese showed that against a really tough, resilient team with his defensive effort, the way he kept getting up and making the big hits, keeping them from our try line.”

Sportsboom