With their campaign firmly on the line, Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White will face one of the most difficult tests of his career this weekend when he leads his team into a pivotal Investec Champions Cup matchup against Castres in France.
Defeat against Saracens in the opening round wasn’t wholly unexpected considering the weather and travel, but the way the Bulls squandered so many scoring chances against Northampton Saints to lose at home at Loftus Versfeld – despite almost 70 per cent possession and territory – left White angry.
White compared himself to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and publicly questioned whether he had done something wrong with the team’s approach to the fixtures after the Bulls once again wasted chances to defeat the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship game of 2024 in Durban.
The Bulls are currently on a three-game losing streak, which is nearly unimaginable given their incredibly successful start to the season, according to the hard data. White understands that sometimes these things are out of a coach’s control, but that statistic will make the coaching staff anxious and make them work harder to ensure there is a turnaround plan.
Winning is a habit, as the saying goes, and so is losing. White will know that the side had produced more than their fair share of chances in the last few games and have had a number of tries disallowed for small errors.
The key will be to find that missing element that seems to deny the Bulls victories they have technically earned, but not been able to hammer home on the scoreboard. And it isn’t the first time this has happened.
The infamous loss against the Sharks in the Currie Cup, where the Bulls couldn’t beat a side down to 13 men, and lost in extra time comes to mind. There is something deeper afoot in terms of execution, and the Bulls know they need to find the answer soon, or it could affect their entire season.
The reality of the start to 2025 is that the Bulls can no longer count on Loftus Versfeld as their fortress. In the last 12 months Munster, Glasgow Warriors and Northampton have all won games at the stadium that the Bulls would normally have pencilled in as their own.
Their away record has gotten better in the URC, with wins over Ospreys and Connacht a particular highlight at the end of the year, but the last three games has given the impression that while the Bulls attack is still pretty decent, there may be other factors at play that have hampered them.
On the positive side, their scrum is one of the strongest in the business, as the demolition up front of the Sharks and Saints proved. Their back row has saved them more than once and Cameron Hanekom almost saved them on his own against Northampton.
However, the worries are well-founded in the backline, as Johan Goosen appears to be losing interest in every game and the Bulls lack a 10 that can control the game.
Kurt-Lee Arendse, who consistently added a try or two in every game and seemed to motivate his teammates, is undoubtedly missed by the team, but this stutter cannot be attributed to a single person.
Instead, it seems there is little fluidity at times in the backline, and whether that is confidence, or personnel White will have to figure out.
The break would have given a number of fringe players a chance to recover from injuries, and in a 12-month season that seems to never end, this could be valuable.
But the task of heading north so early in the year, in conditions that are likely to be freezing and demand a tactical game, are immense for a side on the back foot.
Castres beat Pau this past weekend in the Top 14 and are third in the pool that the Bulls sit at the bottom of. Their gutsy win against Munster in Round two should be something the Bulls will take note of, and travelling to the home ground of a French club will never be easy.
But the losses in the opening two rounds mean the Bulls have to take the hard road now, and have to find a way to win.
A loss will most likely send them to the EPCR Challenge Cup or even worse, out of the competition altogether. The convoluted format means they can also still qualify for the Round of 16 via the back door with a loss, and are likely to be there with a win.
Yet, their seeding in this case will be low, and they will likely have to travel to a powerhouse club away from home, making their task even more difficult.
So while the new year start may be upon all of us a bit sooner than expected, for the Bulls, it ranks as a very important week indeed.
And one they have to come up with a response after a disappointing December.
