‘No right or wrong’: Bulls gain selection tips from Edinburgh Challenge Cup loss for Munster URC tie

As the Bulls made their way back to their home from home, Biarritz in France, they are likely to spend the two-and-a-half hours’ flight time wondering how they lost to Edinburgh.

Saturday’s 34-28 Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat exemplified the old rugby adage of “a game of two halves”. The Bulls were asleep in the first 40 minutes, in contrast to Edinburgh, who were positively buzzing at Hive Stadium to run up a 24-7 half-time lead.

The Pretoria-based side fought back in the second stanza, but ultimately lost 34-28.

There were only two personnel changes to the starting line-up before the match, with Cameron Hanekom at No 8 and Ruan Nortjé at lock – although Marcell Coetzee shifted from No 8 to openside flank.

But the worry was always there that those starters would be feeling the effects of a monumental effort in Bayonne a week later – and that is how it panned out in the Edinburgh first half, as the Bulls lacked physicality, accuracy in the line-outs and defensive fortitude to concede three tries.

The replacements made the necessary impact in the second half, led by flyhalf Johan Goosen’s creativity to get the attack going and Canan Moodie’s hard running and chasing, while forwards like Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marco van Staden brought that hard edge that was missing.

Ultimately, White and his management had to learn the hard way that they need to refresh the team weekly on a four-week tour, and hopefully that will happen in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Munster in Limerick (kick-off 6.15pm).

“We were lethargic because we conceded 14 points in seven minutes,” White said, after the defeat.

“That’s the challenge: the mixing and matching, the preserving of certain guys and creating game-time for them. Where would you take a guy like Nortjé off in a game where he’s the line-caller, a Springbok?

“We can’t afford to do that, but there’s a bigger picture. I need to look after him too. I can’t expect him to come back after a long injury and play 80 minutes.

“Same as Wilco Louw, he can’t play 80 minutes. It’s a juggling act. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.

“I genuinely think that maybe if I’d started with the other group, maybe we would have ... But then, I might have been standing here saying we ran out of puff at the end because our bench wasn’t as good as what I thought it would be.

“So, there’s no right or wrong.

“(Saturday’s) result didn’t come from anything other than the fact that we gave them 14 points in the first half and seven in the second half, because we got two yellow cards (Zak Burger in the eighth minute and Jannes Kirsten in the 42nd) at a very crucial time.”

The Bulls are third on the URC log with 50 points and are trying to chase down second-placed Glasgow (54). And while they’ve missed out on silverware in the Challenge Cup, they are well placed to go all the way in their league campaign.

Fifth-placed Munster (39) will be smarting from their 47-29 Champions Cup quarter-final loss to Bordeaux in France and would want to make up ground on fourth-placed Sharks (45).

Glasgow got a 52-0 thrashing from Leinster in their Champions Cup quarter-final last Friday, and will face a tricky away encounter against Zebre in Italy this Saturday.

So, the Bulls can catch the Scottish outfit over the next two weeks, as they’ll face Glasgow on April 25.

“You could see, by the way we fought until the last minute that this team genuinely wants to win trophies,” White said.

“And what more can a coach want? 31-7 down and you lose with the last play of the game, the turnover in the opposition 22. There isn’t a nice way to lose, but there’s a lot of positives we can take out of that game."