The Vodacom Bulls have made it five appearances in the Carling Currie Cup playoffs from the last five attempts, a feat that Director of Rugby Jake White says has become a part and parcel of the Loftus DNA.
“As a franchise, we never participate in any competition for the sake of participating. We get stuck in to give ourselves and the proud support base that we enjoy the best opportunity at silverware, that is what is expected and the standard we want to be known and remembered for,”
“To achieve this begins with making it to the playoffs. As I always say, you cannot win the lotto without purchasing a ticket and for the fifth season in a row, we have bought our ticket into the playoffs of a competition we deem as prestigious,”
“This competition is tough and to achieve this is no small feat but the job is far from done until the whistle goes at the end of this year’s final.”
The Vodacom Bulls’ qualification for 2024 playoffs in the world’s oldest rugby competition is yet another milestone, having effectuated a similar feat in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (VURC) and the Investec Champions Cup (ICC) during the 2023/24 season. In the three seasons of the VURC, White’s herd has consistently featured in the playoffs of the competition, twice making the Grand Finals.
“We have been slowly staying ahead of our curve in terms of our project goals and timelines, which has brought about some excitement for our franchise and helped us draw top talent to join our ranks. Our hard work has also given these young men a spotlight that they rightly deserve, having worked this hard so far,”
“It is by no mistake or chance that the club has become amongst the leading sides in the competition it participates in. This is the standard that is expected of us and we now have the opportunity to elevate even further and achieve something special in the Currie Cup,”
The franchise boasts another record this season, for having utilised all of its players across the different tournaments barring one with a long-term injury. Keeping to the promise made to the Loftus faithful by the director of rugby when he said: “rotation is important if we are to get closer to our targets and aspirations. We want to win championships but also need to develop depth and grow our skillset and that remains an integral part of our project.”
White says winning is contagious and he knows that his squad is up for the challenge as the Tshwane outfit hunts for its 26th Currie Cup crown.
“We all want number 26. The supporters who have been with us all along, the sponsors who have given us legs to pursue these goals, the corporate office that works tirelessly behind the scenes, the coaching staff across high performance and sport science as well as the players we have on our roster. We all have three more weeks of hard labour and a great, rich and historic prize at the end,”
“I have every bit of faith in the team, we can do something special for the people of our town and those who support us from far.”