Bulls boss going full charge at Irish province
Bulls manager Jake White claims that when Leinster shows up at Pretoria’s famous Loftus Versfeld stadium today at 3pm Irish time, his team will play the Barcelona of club rugby.
Leo Cullen’s accomplishments at the province are greatly admired by White, who also emphasizes that Jacques Nienaber, the former head coach of the Springboks, has joined a “world-class team” in Dublin after leading South Africa to the World Cup late in the previous season.
When asked about the impact of Nienaber, White responded, “All you have to do is polish the diamond.” “Leinster has always been a formidable team; don’t discount the value that Jacques has brought to the table. They have always been impenetrable in the past.
“I don’t think Leinster’s defence was ever poor – and I don’t think the Irish defence has ever been exposed.”
At one stage in his pre-match interview yesterday, White mixed up the Leinster and Ireland teams. While that was accidental, it is clear that he sees the Blues as a Test-quality outfit. “This is almost the Bulls playing the Irish national team,” he argued.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if 20-25 of these guys playing here this week don’t come back in two weeks’ time to play in the same venue (for Ireland against South Africa), so it’s one of the biggest games we’ve had to play in recent times.
“This will be the benchmark of where we want to be – or where we have been the last four years,” the player said. “We played the Crusaders when they were dominant.”
The 60-year-old, who in 2007 helped lead the Springboks to their second World Cup victory, laughs at the idea that Leinster, having just lost the Champions Cup final, might be mentally damaged going into this round of four.
“This will be the benchmark of where we want to be – or where we have been the last four years,” the player said. “We played the Crusaders when they were dominant.”
It’s simple in retrospect. People would argue that he ought to have brought the A team here and won the URC table, but if they had done so and failed to cross the finish line in the European Cup final, then people would have pointed out that Toulouse had defeated them despite winning the URC table.
I thus have a great deal of respect for Leo and the Leinster method. Which team, after all, can sign RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett for the upcoming season?
The 60-year-old, who in 2007 helped lead the Springboks to their second World Cup victory, laughs at the idea that Leinster, having just lost the Champions Cup final, might be mentally damaged going into this round of four.