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Jackal lingers over series win
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Bulls DoR Jake White starts the mindgames ahead of Leinster in Dublin
By Stefan Frost
Bulls director of rugby Jake White questioned the consistency of refereeing in his side’s dramatic URC quarter final victory over the Sharks and hoped officials would be kinder when they face Leinster in the semi-finals on Friday.
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The Bulls had home-field advantage but even with the Loftus Versfeld stadium onside, they had to wait until the final play to secure victory, as Chris Smith’s 84th-minute drop-goal sunk the Sharks by 30-27.
Irish referee Andrew Brace was in charge of the game and while there weren’t any major flash points in officiating, White suggests there was a certain amount of inconsistency from the official.
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However, he did admit the pressure of a fiery home crowd can be hard for officials to manage and hoped the Bulls would be on the right side of the referee’s whistle when the travel to Dublin to face Leinster.
“If we were in the same situation in Durban, we would have felt the same pressure,” White told Sport24. “That’s why getting a home play-off is important and it’s no different to any other sport where there’s the crowd, there’s going to be pressure.
“There’s going to be pressure on the officiating. It’s a normal human reaction. I’m just hoping that next week, they’ll allow the away team to win.”
White also admits he was surprised his side decided to kick for the posts, rather than push for a try when the clock went red. The hosts diligently constructed phase-play in the build up and found themselves in a similar position to where outside centre Cornal Hendricks had scored for the Bulls in 50th-minute.
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White assumed his team would go for the line once more and even revealed he came close to bringing on the experienced Morne Steyn in place of Smith. The faith he showed in his flyhalf was validated as Smith calmly steered the attack before landing his kick.
“I didn’t think they would drop-kick. I thought they would score. In a couple of phases before, we were in the same place, we went out at the back and Cornal scored,” White said.
“They obviously summed up the situation and Chris saw he could get the kick over the poles. I was wanting to put Morne Steyn on. However, it turned out that I kept the right guy on the field.”
