It’s the Bulls against Ireland. Simple as that. That’s the view of Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White as his side left Pretoria on Sunday for the toughest of tasks - to beat Irish juggernaut Leinster at the 82 000-seater Croke Park in front of one of the most partisan crows that the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will ever experience.
To be fair, the Bulls had a similar crowd behind them as they had 47 000 fans spurring them on to victory against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in last Saturday’s semifinal, but the massive task awaiting them will make them big underdogs for this Saturday’s Grand Final.
The Bulls have lost two finals in three seasons and will want to make it third time lucky but they face a Leinster side desperate for their first trophy since the URC began with a coaching side that is under a lot of pressure to perform after years of disappointment despite a star-studded side.
LEINSTER ARE IRELAND, OR THE BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS
To be frank, Jake is not wrong. Leinster are Ireland and Ireland are Leinster, bar one or two players. And the argument could be made that Leinster are also the British and Irish Lions, with 12 of their team being selected for the showpiece tour that will kick off at the end of this month.
Travelling to Dublin is another factor, while Leinster stay at home, confident after mauling Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors team this past weekend in the other semifinal. The game wasn’t even close and even Smith would admit the scoreline flatters his side.
But the Bulls have grown since last year’s final, and have grown throughout the season, often posting their best results away from home. Wins over Connacht, Benetton, Munster and Glasgow away from home have come with grit and guts and that will give them a chance when all the odds are stacked against them.
And the pain of losing two finals will sit with them and spur them on in a week where Leinster are expected to crown their season with a victory.
The Bulls will be up against all of Ireland and they know it, but writing them off would be the best thing for them in a week like this.
BULLS KNOW THE DISAPPOINTMENT
“All I'll say is that we know how tough finals are, and we lost a home final here when everyone expected us to win. We won the games away from home that people expected us to lose. And I don't say that lightly,” White said ahead of the team’s departure, and when asked what it would take to win in Dublin, he simply smiled and said: “Prayer”.
“It'll take prayer because we're obviously going to travel, and it's going to be tough. You're talking about an Irish team. It's like Ireland versus the Bulls.
“Whether we try and underplay it, we've got to understand that Ireland have beaten the All Blacks. Ireland has beaten many big teams, so it's not going to be easy – I don't say it with any worry to tell you. We're going to need to work hard.
“We're going to have to get things working in our favour. We're going to have to recover quickly from injury and bumps and bruises, and then we're going to have to play well. We're going to have to play really well.
“Look what they did to Glasgow and Glasgow beat us last year. They didn't struggle to beat Glasgow, and I'm sure that they will also be on a high now going into a final at home.”
But far from being despondent, White said pressure was a funny thing in a big game and he knew his side would be prepared for the challenge.
BULLS HAVE A ‘LOTTO TICKET’
“Well, it's the first time we've played them in the final, and it's their first final since we've joined the URC as well. So it doesn't matter what happened, and I've just proved to you that we lost twice to the Sharks and won the playoff game. So what will make it different is it's a completely different challenge.
“It doesn't matter whether we beat them last year, it doesn't matter whether we beat them in the knockout game, it's all immaterial. It's now a final, and the wonderful thing about where we are is we have a lotto ticket. You can't win the lotto if you don't have a ticket.
“At this point in time, there are two teams that have a lotto ticket, and we've got a 50 per cent chance of winning it. That's how sport works, so it'll be different. I'm sure it'll be different.”
White pointed to the looming Lions tour that would also take some attention away from the final, and wasn’t hiding his hope that the 12 Leinster players heading on that tour would be a bit pre-occupied with staying fit and ready for that tour. Coupled with the fact that the Bulls will be written off locally, he wants his team to embrace it.
“There's British and Irish Lions assembling while we're in the UK. I think next week the British and Irish Lions play, and I'm glad because what it'll mean is it'll just mean that the whole Dublin will be rugby crazy. I'm so happy because our young players and the guys we've been working hard with are going to experience something that's very, very unique and very, very special for them.”
SENIOR PLAYERS CRUCIAL TO FINAL HOPES
White said he would be looking to the senior players to guide the team through the preparations and the final, using their experience in what amounts to a massive task to win a final away from home.
“You've hit the nail on the head. That is exactly when you expect those senior guys that have been there and done it to impart that. You read Rassie saying he's bringing in all these uncapped guys and youngsters into the camp, not necessarily to play, but also to learn from the World Cup winners.
“So now we're going there. We've got Willie (le Roux) who's won a World Cup, Marco van Staden and Canan Moodie, who have all won World Cups. We've got guys who've experienced playing in finals in the last three seasons.
“Now, what I want them to do is talk to each other about what works, what doesn't work, what they got right, what they got wrong. And even though it's a different fixture, even though it's a different challenge, finals are what they are. They're finals and it's all or nothing.
“So I will work hard this week to get the players to enjoy it and also just to be ready for the fact that it's a final and people follow sporting teams around the world to go and watch finals to sometimes see the underdog win.
“And that's what happens in sport. I was watching (Novak) Djokovic play tennis last night and he lost to Jannik Sinner. People would have thought Dokovic would win. But that's what makes people talk about it the next day. Can you believe Sinner beat him?
“We’re talking about rugby now, but Sinner beat Djokovic and that's what people talk about. Because it's an occasion like that makes people follow sports around the world. And how much better can it be for a Bulls supporter watching his team play against Leinster next weekend. So I'm really going to spend this week getting the youngsters to enjoy the fact that they've got an opportunity that's special for them.”
The Bulls are likely to name their team for the Grand Final on Thursday, with the final kicking off at 6pm on Saturday.