Loftus showdown has the makings of a North-South classic says White
SPOTLIGHT: Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White believes Saturday’s clash against the Stormers will be the “biggest” North-South derby he will be involved in since he took charge of the Bulls.
The Bulls are expecting a bumper crowd of about 40 000 people to show up for Saturday’s match, which has a lot riding on it in terms of the South African Conference in the United Rugby Championship.
The Stormers enter the match 10 points ahead of the Bulls and another victory will see the Capetonians take a significant step in their quest to secure top spot in the SA Shield.
However, a win for the Bulls will ensure an exciting run-in to the play-offs as well as finally breaking their duck against the old foes.
In the four meetings that they had in the URC, which includes last year’s Final, the Bulls have yet to record a win.
“I’ve got to be careful about how I answer this because I don’t want it to be misinterpreted. In my time here [as Director of Rugby], the biggest games have been against the Sharks,” said White.
“We played them in the Currie Cup Final twice and we beat them with a drop kick in the quarterfinals of the URC.
“However, I just sense that this one [Stormers clash] is a little bit like it used to be.
“There is a lot on it and the crowds are coming.
“It’s got the makings of a classic again.”
White promised that his team will be giving their all against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld.
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#PREVIEW: It’s the big North-South derby and the Sharks will enter the Lions’ den – Check out our predictions 👇#URC #Lions #Sharks #LIOvSHA #Bulls #Stormers #BULvSTO https://t.co/Z0CLeEXgQK
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Blast from the past
“Our backs are against the wall. All I hear is that we lost four times against them and we have never beaten them in the URC.
“This is where we are going to get measured.
“Looking back at the old Bulls teams, we will have to learn from Buurman van Zyl, Frik du Preez, Naas Botha and Burger Geldenhuys.
“We have got to try our best to make our supporters proud and that is all I can guarantee.
“We are going to play as well as we can and try as hard as we can and give the North-South derby the kudos it deserves because in my time here this is the biggest one to date.”
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