Africa-Press – South-Africa. While he probably would’ve had ammunition to do just that, Bulls mentor Jake White isn’t going to lose his temper with his troops following this weekend’s defeat to Glasgow.
The 35-21 reverse was arguably the most barren and sloppy performance the side delivered in over a year as Franco Smith’s incisive Scots ran them off their feet.
Yet, unlike last season when the Bulls lost five of their first six outings, they currently boast a decent 75% win record and sit fifth on the overall log.
“I just said to the players I’m disappointed, and they know I’m disappointed. But they themselves are disappointed too. I’m not a coach who shouts and screams and belittles them now, and tries to break them down,” said White.
“We’ve got a long tour and long season, and one poor performance doesn’t mean you are not going to win the competition. Last year this time, we had won one game.
“I’m not going to shout and scream. We will work it out together as a group, with the coaches and players. I can’t fast-forward experience and age. If you consider, (Reinhardt) Ludwig is 21, Elrigh Louw’s 22, Jan-Hendrik Wessels 21. That’s what I’ve got. Unfortunately, that’s what you’ve got to work with.”
Last week’s complicated travel arrangements – it took the team 25 hours to get to Glasgow – weren’t used as mitigation, reinforcing the stance in the pre-match buildup.
“Look, I’m not going to make excuses and say the travel is to blame. The Lions came here and they had 27 hours to get to Wales, and ended up winning three of their games – so it can be done,” said White.
“We just weren’t good enough, it’s very simple. We weren’t good enough. We looked like young boys, and we missed some tackles and gave them a good start.”
However, the former Bok coach did intimate preparation for this weekend’s visit to Limerick and Munster will be closer to ideal simply because time is now on their side.
“The margins are small. On Monday morning, we will be back on the training field. We’re going to do some homework on Munster, and it’s not going to get any easier as Munster are under the pump – I think they’ve lost three of their four games,” he said.
“They’ve also got a great record at home, and have lots of international experience. But I know that if we spend some time and we learn through these performances – and they get to understand how tough this competition is, then they are going to become better players.
“And that’s all I can wish for: that they take some learning out of these performances.”
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