BULLS BOSS JAKE White has called on the South African side’s fans to rally this weekend. He reckons his team need 52,000 people to pack out Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday if they’re to beat Leinster in the URC semi-finals.
In the closing minutes of last weekend’s tight quarter-final win against Benetton at the same stadium, Bulls fans found their voice when the Cranberries’ Zombie was blasted out over the tannoy during a break in play.
Of course, Springboks fans liked hearing Zombie so much in Stade de France last year that they came up with their own version. The South African one sees the words ‘Rassie, Rassie, Rassie’ replace the song’s famous refrain.
White would love to hear the Bulls fans belting it out again late on Saturday afternoon with his team on the way into the URC final but he knows how difficult a challenge lies ahead. The experienced head coach understands that his side has to be much better than they were against Benetton.
The fact that the Bulls have lost wing sensation Kurt-Lee Arendese – who scored two tries in that quarter-final and is their biggest attacking weapon – to a fractured cheekbone is unhelpful. They were already missing 21-year-old flyer Canan Moodie.
There is some positive injury news this week for the Bulls, though, with former Ulster back row Marcell Coetzee and World Cup-winning flanker Marco van Staden expected to return. Their physicality will be needed against this powerful Leinster team.
White has happily framed his Bulls team as underdogs for this tie and the bookies agree, with Leinster now six-point favourites for the semi-final.
“We’ve probably got no chance against Leinster and no chance against Munster in everyone’s eyes,” said White of the prospect of the Bulls winning the URC.
“They’re probably two of the best clubs in the world. But that’s sometimes a nice place to be.”
A seven-try beating from Leinster in Dublin in March dented the Bulls’ pride, even if it was an excellent contest for 50 minutes, as did a defeat to Munster at Loftus Versfeld in April.
They have won five games in a row since losing to Munster, taking down the Ospreys, Glasgow, Benetton, the Sharks, and Benetton again, with all but the Sharks game in Pretoria, so they’ve rebuilt rhythm in front of their home support.
That said, their performances haven’t been complete. At times, you could be forgiven for wondering if it’s a White team at all. His sides have traditionally been extremely solid, making few errors and squeezing the opposition. The Bulls can still do that but their lapses and mistakes have given teams chances.
White’s men have scored freely, topping the URC for tries and points scored, but they’ve tended to concede frequently too, with only four other teams conceding more points than the Bulls during the regular season. So they’ve been involved in plenty of exciting shoot-outs, generally ending up on top.
Munster only pipped them to first place in the final table by two match points so this is not a Bulls team that Leinster will take lightly. Munster are among the sides to have shown that the altitude factor can be negated with the help of a strong bench, but it has made life difficult for other visitors. Throw in a huge crowd and the spice that has developed between Irish and South African sides and it should be a cauldron.
White’s men will lean on experienced fullback Willie le Roux and out-half Johan Goosen to make good decisions, while forwards like tighthead Wilco Louw, second row Ruan Nortjé, and Elrigh Louw are smart operators with an edge. 21-year-old back row Cameron Hanekom has been impressive this season.
The Bulls haven’t won a major trophy since their 2010 Super Rugby title, having been pipped by the Stormers in the 2022 URC decider, so they probably feel like silverware is overdue.
If the Bulls do make it past Leinster, they seemingly expect to have to visit Munster for the final but the other Irish province involved in the URC semi-finals have a big task of their own to deal with this weekend.
Graham Rowntree’s men have had the benefit of an eight-day turnaround from their quarter-final win over Ospreys and haven’t had to travel, but they’ll be on notice about the threats posed by a dangerous Glasgow team.
The Warriors have lacked steel in play-offs in recent years, taking an embarrassing 76-14 hammering from Leinster in 2022, then losing at home to Munster in last season’s quarters. In fairness, the Glaswegians were hit by a red card in that clash with Munster and only lost 14-5 so it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the Leinster debacle.
But it was a big deal for the Warriors to get past the visiting Stormers last weekend, a tense, tight battle only being decided in the closing minutes when sub back row Hanco Venter barged over before Ross Thompson’s try added gloss on a 27-10 win.
Glasgow came through that game without any new injury concerns, while they could welcome back imposing centre Stafford McDowall this week. That said, the Scotland international midfield pairing of Sione Tuipulotu – who scored a brilliant try against the Stormers – and Huw Jones isn’t too shabby.
Glasgow are familiar opponents for Munster. They know that forwards like try-scoring hooker Johnny Matthews, lineout expert Richie Gray, and the abrasive back rows Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, and Jack Dempsey are key. Scrum-half George Horne is always lively, while Tom Jordan – sent off in last year’s semi-final – has grown at out-half.
In ex-Connacht man Nigel Carolan, the Warriors have an intelligent attack coach, while defence specialist Peter Murchie has overseen a campaign in which Glasgow conceded fewer tries than anyone else in the regular season. South African head coach Franco Smith has helped this team to become more consistent.
If Glasgow pull this off in Limerick, they will be away to either Leinster or the Bulls in the URC final so it’s no easy path to what would be just the club’s second major trophy.
They beat Munster in the 2015 final but lost to Leinster in the deciders in 2014 and 2018, while losing to Toulon in the 2023 Challenge Cup final. A URC trophy this season would be a new level of achievement.
So even if the build-up on these shores naturally focuses on the Irish provinces, the other two URC semi-finalists have their own causes driving them this week.
Hopefully we get the full house and it’s a cracker. The URC has the potential to be the best league in rugby union with the arrival of the SA teams
As an aside, it must be coming close to the time to bring Carolan (and McNamara) home?