‘We should have won that one’ – Jake White sees positives from Bulls’ loss
Lyon v Bulls Champions Cup Rugby and Bulls boss Jake White.
Director of rugby Jake White expressed disappointment after the Bulls fell to a 29-28 defeat to Lyon in the Champions Cup last week.
The Bulls were in the lead 18-12 at half-time but ultimately slipped to a one-point loss in France.
Lyon trailed for much of the fixture, with Thibault Regard’s late score sealing the win for the hosts, and while the Bulls had their opportunities to grab a late winner, they were unable to capitalise with Jaco van der Walt missing a penalty.
White disappointed
The result left them in third position in pool one of the Champions Cup with five points. They have won one and lost one match – and are flanked by second-placed Lyon and fourth-placed Saracens.
While White was disappointed with the result, he was able to draw several positives from the performance of his charges.
“We should have won. We are disappointed to walk away from the match as the side that lost,” the Bulls boss said.
“We will probably walk away feeling as if we should have won that one, which is impressive for us and is a sign of the great depth that we are working on as a club to be able to rotate our side and come to France and take the game to them like we did.
“To stay in the game and, in the end, lose by one point is a sign of how tight and how tough this competition is. You need to be on top of your game from start to finish otherwise, you allow the other side an opportunity to steal it from you.”
The Bulls will meet the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship this week before returning to the Champions Cup against Bristol on 13 January 2024.
“I am extremely proud of the character and spirit that the team showed to stay in the fight right until the very last minute and the last play of the match; the boys must take that as a pat on the back,” added White.
“We will get better and we will learn as we go forward, even if sometimes the results do not go your way.”
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