Jake White: Bulls are ‘much better’ equipped for Leinster final than 12 months ago
Bulls winger Kurt-Lee Arendse and an inset of ex-head coach Jake White.
Johan Ackermann’s Bulls are better placed to beat Leinster in the United Rugby Championship Final than they were 12 months ago.
That is according to former Bulls boss Jake White, who led the Pretoria club to three URC Finals where they were beaten by the Stormers, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster, respectively.
Ackermann was named as White’s successor after the disappointment last year, and the latter says that it won’t be a bittersweet feeling if the Bulls went one step further this season, as he knows how hard his former players have worked to get into the position they are in this weekend.
Bulls have a ‘much better’ chance to beat Leinster
The ex-Bulls boss says that his former team is in a far better position to beat the Irish giants in the final this season than they were 12 months ago when he led the club into the final.
White says the experience gained over the past year plus the Bulls‘ fitness bill puts them in a far stronger position to defeat Leinster this time around.
“Much better. Much better,” he told the RTE Rugby Podcast when asked if the Bulls are better equipped to win the URC this year.
“It’s just the nature of rugby teams. They’re a year older now; everyone who was 24 is now 25, everyone who’s 26 is 27.
“It’s just the nature of that group, it’s like anything. That’s the debate I suppose Ireland and Leinster are having: what is the age profile of teams that you want? I remember when I coached the Springboks, we had 175 Test caps in my very first Test match and we had 650 by my last Test match at the World Cup final.
“Now, 650 in today’s times is not enough Test caps because people have got over a thousand Test caps. It just shows you how that philosophy of team cohesion and keeping people in positions, especially nines and tens for a long period of time, adds value like the Gregans and Larkhams or the Carters and Marshalls.”
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There were several players unavailable for White in the 2025 final who will run out for Ackermann, which the former coach believes will make a difference too. The five players he namedropped are all Springboks.
“I’ve got no doubt the Bulls [will be better] now. Last year we played without five of the players that will start this week, and they are Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Gerhard Steenkamp, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom – we know how good they are, and they are both internationals, but they didn’t play last year,” he added.
“Then, Handre Pollard – who would make the starting 23 on any given Test day. So, I have got no doubt they are better equipped, and because they’re a year wiser, a year older, and they’ve been there.”
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Take nothing away from Leinster
While he believes that his former club can get the job done, he is under no illusion of the threat that Leinster pose to the Bulls, who will be keen to finally clinch the trophy after three final losses.
“I think a lot of times that when you’ve been to that, you know what it takes. I’m not saying it’s a right because that’s also one of the messages I always said in my press conferences. I’ve seen lots of teams play European finals and never win it,” he said.
“I’ve seen lots of teams get to different finals and never win it. There’s no given right to actually win a final. You have to play well. And as much as I say they’re better equipped, no doubt. But I also take nothing away from Leinster; I know how good Leinster can be when they’re on song.”
