Bulls win not a major upset

2006-05-18 21:31

Hendrik Cronje

Bloemfontein - National coach Jake White and captain John Smit will not regard a win by the Bulls over the Crusaders as the biggest surprise of the Super 14 series.

White said the Bulls learnt a valuable lesson in their semi-final defeat against the Waratahs last year and they won't want to repeat those mistakes. The Bulls will also want to take revenge after the Crusaders beat them in Pretoria.

"The Bulls could have beaten the Waratahs last year, but a mistake cost them dearly. The Bulls are more experienced this year. Consistency in team selection and experience will count in their favour.

"On Saturday the Bulls get a second chance to qualify for the final.

"I will be surprised if the Bulls repeat the same mistakes they made against the Waratahs," the Bok coach said.

The Bok hooker and captain John Smit said the Bulls were brilliant against the Stormers: "If they can build on that performance, their national players will miss another week of the Bok training camp."

There is a feeling in the Bok camp that the Bulls are peaking at the right time. The victory over the Stormers was an indication of things to come.

White says the Bulls and the Sharks have shown that they can win overseas and that gives the Boks a lot of hope and courage.

"People are very critical about the South African teams' performance in the Super 14. The Cheetahs lost three matches with a point or two and the Stormers were also unlucky.

"I think our five teams in the series did well. I think If we take the top 22 players from the five teams positive things could follow."

Even though the absence of the Bulls is detrimental to the training camp in Bloemfontein, White and company will keep their fingers crossed for a Bulls victory on Saturday.

- Volksblad