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The alarming trend that's worrying Jake White and his Bulls

Vodacom Bulls head coach Jake White before the United Rugby Championship semi-final match between Vodacom Bulls and Leinster at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo By Shaun Roy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White says his team will need to develop a killer instinct if they want to end their tour with a win against Benetton in Treviso.

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After starting their three-match tour with a 29-19 win over the Ospreys, the Bulls suffered their first defeat of the season when they went down 22-23 to the Scarlets in Llanelli on Friday.

In both matches, the Bulls could only add three points to their tally in the second half.

They also had a player sent off in those matches, but it does not take away from the fact they seem a bit rudderless on the field in the second 40.

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Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White on what is needed to beat Benetton

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      Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White on what is needed to beat Benetton

      Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White says his team will need to develop a killer instinct if they want to end their tour with a win against Benetton in Treviso.

      With Benetton riding a wave of momentum after wins against the Sharks and the Dragons, the Bulls will be under pressure to deliver an 80-minute performance in Treviso.

      Fixture
      United Rugby Championship
      Benetton
      15 - 17
      Full-time
      Bulls
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      “Now we need to play well against Benetton,” said White after his team’s defeat in Llanelli.

      “Now it’s a question of being a little bit more desperate, a bit more clinical and having a bit more understanding on where we’ve got it wrong.”

      “It is a trend that we’ve got to try and change.

      “It’s something that is catching us because we start well and put teams under the pump and then when we’ve got our hands on their throat, we just let them get out.

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      “It’s all about learning and all about growing.

      “In the last four years, no team has been unbeaten in the competition, so it just shows you how tough it is to win week in and week out.”

      United Rugby Championship

      P
      W
      L
      D
      PF
      PA
      PD
      BP T
      BP-7
      BP
      Total
      1
      Leinster
      5
      5
      0
      0
      25
      2
      Lions
      4
      4
      0
      0
      18
      3
      Glasgow
      5
      3
      2
      0
      18
      4
      Bulls
      4
      3
      1
      0
      15
      5
      Ulster
      5
      3
      2
      0
      15
      6
      Edinburgh
      5
      2
      3
      0
      13
      7
      Connacht
      5
      2
      3
      0
      13
      8
      Benetton
      5
      2
      2
      1
      12
      9
      Cardiff Rugby
      5
      2
      3
      0
      12
      10
      Scarlets
      5
      2
      2
      1
      11
      11
      Munster
      5
      2
      3
      0
      11
      12
      Stormers
      4
      2
      2
      0
      10
      13
      Sharks
      4
      2
      2
      0
      10
      14
      Dragons RFC
      5
      1
      4
      0
      7
      15
      Zebre
      5
      1
      4
      0
      7
      16
      Ospreys
      5
      1
      4
      0
      6
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      Comments on RugbyPass

      J
      JW 1 hour ago
      Andy Goode: Aussie comments didn't cover them in glory

      Yes I was happy with the refs ruling of arrival (and that the tackled player wasn’t obligated to release the ball immediately) but if you see the wide angle you can note how Morgan dives to get there in time.


      I don’t mind your (or the refs) view, but what Morgan said is accurate. Both Mils and Beaver agreed on the breakdown, and you will also get the same view from Aotearoa Rugby Pod guys for a pretty unanimous NZ view.

      Sometimes when both players are low its a rugby collision and this is one of those times.

      Not recently. In the SR finals and AB v Arg series weve seen players clearly bent 90 at the waist still be penalised, only when the attacker does something the ref sees immediate mitigation and rules a rugby incident. Tizzano didn’t offer that he was always in the position Morgan aimed to collect him in.


      Happy to not throw the rule book at these situations but the precent is that they are in these situations.

      many tries out wide the player is allowed to be tackled while diving

      They are diving for the line, not to avoid being tackled.

      “In principle, in a try scoring situation, if the action is deemed to be a dive forward for a try, then it should be permitted. If a player is deemed to have left the ground to avoid a tackle; or to jump, or hurdle a potential tackler, then this is dangerous play and should be sanctioned accordingly.”

      You can read Nicks article for an updated discourse on this though.

      30 Go to comments
      J
      JW 1 hour ago
      New Zealanders may not understand, but in France Test rugby is the 'B movie'

      But he was wrong, he had to take back what he said. But maybe this only happened because he came out and was honest with his initial plans?


      He’s simply in a position where he should be far more professional.


      I don’t really follow much media, especially SM, but again, I’ve not seen anyone complaining. Plenty of ridicule and pointing out things like it being disrespectful to the game, but as far as the English language goes, that’s not complaining. Nick Bishop for instance hasn’t been complaining, he’s simply saying Galthie made a bad decision for France’s prospects (which when the common reply is ‘thats how it is’).


      Complaining would be views expressing that the FFR should have put the tour back a week so that all T14 finalists could attend. Complaining would be saying they’ve been robbed of seeing the worlds best stars. Complaining would be saying players can simply take extra weeks off from T14. I’ve only seen advice and suggestions that these are things France need to look-at-for-the-future.


      Basically I tried to communicate with French fans because they don’t understand what’s being communicated. ALL reactions I have seen shared here by French supports have all seemed way over the top compared what I’ve seen expressed about this tour.

      the players are expected to play in too many matches, for too many minutes, and need more rest and recovery time.

      This is the message I have been sharing. So something needs to happen, whether thats France pull out of more Internationals or rest players from more domestic games, who knows, but I also don’t think what they have now is working. It’s obviously much better than 3-4 years ago, but they appear to want to work even harder at it like you say. Personally I’ve only seen LNR be reasonable, I hear much less of their other internationals being denied/influenced not to play, so I imagine that they will give even further (as I can’t really see France pulling out the other international windows as well).

      147 Go to comments
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