Bulls head coach Jake White has welcomed the rapid improvement of South African teams in the new United Rugby Championship.
While the first two rounds of the new competition saw all four SA sides fall to some heavy defeats against European opposition, last weekend’s action saw the Bulls and Sharks pick up their first wins over Cardiff and Ospreys respectively, while the Stormers managed a draw against Edinburgh and the Lions were unlucky to go down 13-9 to Glasgow after the sole try of the match was wrongfully awarded to the home side.
“Two wins, a draw and a losing bonus point is going to be massive for everybody. It gives credibility to the competition,” said White.
“Take nothing away from the Cheetahs and Kings, but you want to come into this new tournament and make sure that there’s competitiveness and credibility from the start.
“You want to get fans on board with his new venture and we’ve already seen in the media that the URC already has incredible numbers and that viewership is through the roof. We don’t want to lose and lose and lose what could be a growing fanbase at the end of the season.
“This is healthy.”
As for the Bulls themselves, White was delighted with their second-half performance against Cardiff, as they turned a 3-16 half-time deficit into a 29-19 win.
“We were 13-0 down. What more can you ask for on what the players ultimately did,” said White.
“They were resilient. They stuck in there and everyone fronted up. People asked about fitness in the build-up. I think this performance puts those questions to bed.
“To go and score all those points in the second half, attests to our conditioning.”
