White smiling as trophies return to Loftus

Former Springbok coach Jake White has one hand on the Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked trophy and while he may not get to win his first trophy since returning to South Africa on the terms he would enjoy, Vodacom Bulls fans will be happy nevertheless.

There was a bit of a hollow feeling on Tuesday when the Sharks-Stormers game was called off because of Covid-19 outbreak and the Bulls are still waiting until Friday to find out if their final game against the Pumas will go ahead.

But regardless of whether the Bulls are involved in a fixture this weekend or not, and given the strange circumstances the competition has played itself off in, there are few that would argue that the Bulls don’t deserve their trophy they are likely to receive sometime this weekend.

White’s arrival and the changes he has made since he returned to South Africa and took up the Bulls job may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but some of the rugby the Bulls have played this season has been more than reason for optimism that the board took the right decision for the franchise.

Led by the irrepressible Duane Vermeulen, who has been a colossus in the competition thus far, and backed up in jackler-fashion by the resurgence of Marco van Staden as a breakdown force, the Bulls may have started off a bit nervous but then powered on to record some big victories to kill off a number of arguments about their pedigree.

Big victories against the Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers underlined their class, even though they were at Loftus Versfeld, and a solid win over the Emirates Lions gave them one hand on the trophy. The only blip was a loss in Bloemfontein where they were not close to their best, and missed a number of chances that would have made White tear his hair out.

In the end though, stats do tell a story and there is little argument with the fact that Bulls scored the most tries - 18 and conceded the least – five and this is pretty much why they sit at the top of the log.

The Currie Cup will be a totally different story and teams will be much more versed on their opposition in the second leg of the season, with WP having four home games at Newlands to make them odds-on favourites for a late surge.

But now, even though Covid has ripped away the excitement of a final round of the competition, White will be smiling.

He promised to bring trophies back to Loftus Versfeld, and barring some massive loss to the Pumas this weekend, he has kept it in the first competition the Bulls have played.