Director of Rugby, Jake White was left encouraged as he highlighted the need for patience as the side continues to evolve through match experience, although going down 27-37 to the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Friday.
“To play for 20 minutes (in the first half) with just 14 men and stay in the game showed character but we perhaps looked a little bit inexperienced at times looking at some of our actions,”
“We are inexperienced in the sense that we still have a lot of growing to do. For example, the decision-making in how we decided one move over the next, which options to take at different moments of the game. Whereas they have experienced players (age and matches) and they have the most experienced coaching staff in the whole competition – having been together for the last 8 years and that showed,”
“We are really a young team in its development stages at the moment, but that does not take away from the sting of losing by four tries to three, but this is why we have long-term signings, to make sure that this squad grows and gels together as we go.”
Asked about his squad composition and whether or not the result warrants some changes, White re-affirmed that he is content with the crop of players available to him.
“These are the best group of players that I have and I will not kick them out just because they had one or two errors. Cape Town is tough and they (DHL Stormers) are a good team, defending champions.”
“We have lost four times to the Stormers now and that means we have not beaten them in this (Vodacom United Rugby Championship) competition. It would have been good to get the win because then when they come to play us at home (on February 18, 2023), we would almost have some money in the bank” concluded the Vodacom Bulls mentor.
