VIDEO: White wants 'street-smart' Bulls
REACTION: The Bulls Director of rugby Jake White has urged his team to be more mindful of the rugby laws.
The Bulls kept their winning run intact with a hard-fought 34-29 win over the Stormers on Friday.
The North versus South derby certainly did not lack intensity as the Bulls had to overturn a 13-point deficit at the break for the win.
To make things more frantic, the visitors came close to snapping a late win however No.8 Juarno Augustus failed to ground the ball and gifted the Bulls the win.
Speaking to reporters after the match, White expressed his displeasure with the Pretoria side’s display in the last minute of the game.
White was especially disappointed in the manner in which his players allowed referee AJ Jacobs to rush them back to the halfway mark to restart after a Tim Swiel penalty brought the Stormers to within touching distance in the 79th minute.
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“There is no law in rugby that says when a penalty gets kicked over with 36 seconds left that you have to run to the halfway line and kick-off,” White said.
“If we are going to prepare to play teams like Munster and Leinster [in the Rainbow Cup], there is no way that they are going to run to the halfway line and kick the ball to you so that you can come back at them.
“I understand that we want more ball in play and trying to produce a good product, but this is also preparation for us as a team and it’s not just about running the ball all the time.
He added “When Glasgow are playing Munster and a South African referee is blowing that game, he is not going to say to them, ‘Hurry up’
“In that context, I want to stress that while we were under the pump at the end, we didn’t have to hurry up and kick-off that quickly.
“We could have waited until the hooter went and I have no doubt that then the game would have been over,”
#REACTION: @THESTORMERS take the ‘good with the bad’ after the defeat to @BlueBullsRugby
🗣️”it’s important for us as coaches to give him support”#BULvSTO #PreperationSeries https://t.co/4FZwzCIGv7— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) March 21, 2021
When asked about the officiating, White refused to entertain any questions about the ref and revealed his team could only learn from Friday’s incident
“We just got sucked in. It’s got nothing to do with the officiating; nothing to do with anything other than the fact that we have to be street-smart enough to know that even when we have leaders on the field – senior players – there is no rule that says that we have to sprint to take the kick-off.
‘Within the rules, you have to tell the guys that’s how it is and then the referee must make the decision.
He added “I’d liked to have seen what the ref would have done if we walked slowly back to the halfway because you can’t just make rules up.
“Having said that a lot of it was the inexperience in our combinations however that’s learning for us.
“Nonetheless my players got sucked into that whole thing and that’s why I’m a bit disappointed,”
@rugby365com
#⃣WATCH as @THESTORMERS No.8 Juarno Augustus commits the cardinal sin – losing the ball in the act of scoring a match-winning try
🤒The fine margins between winning and losing …😡#Rugby #PreparationSeries #BULvSTO
🔗https://t.co/Gy3Hn0KqkK pic.twitter.com/wUS0SnVwkP— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) March 20, 2021
