Currie Cup final ‘very close to perfect’ for Jake

THE Blue Bulls have conquered South Africa for the second consecutive season, but coach Jake White knows that his wellresourced squad's real test will come in the United Rugby Championship later this month.

The Pretoria side swept the Sharks aside 44-10 in the Currie Cup final at Loftus on Saturday, with six sizzling tries and a barn-storming performance from the forwards setting up what became an easy victory on the day.

White spoke afterwards about being “very proud” of the fact that his team could pull off back-to-back championships for the first time since they did it in 2004 (which was three in a row from 2002), and that it was a record 34-point victory margin in a final, surpassing the 1980 title decider when Northern Transvaal beat Western Province 39-9.

The Bulls just had too much firepower for the Sharks, with No 8 and man-ofthe-match Elrigh Louw, locks Janko Swanepoel and Ruan Nortje, and centre pair Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe outstanding.

But the Sharks were depleted due to several players being on tour with the Springboks in Australia at the moment, so the match may not be a true reflection of the Bulls' abilities to take on Europe's best in the United Rugby Championship.

They will fly to Ireland this Saturday ahead of their first match against Leinster in Dublin next Saturday, followed by Connacht (1 October), Cardiff (9 October) and Edinburgh (16 October).

“We were lucky in that we got an opportunity to play overseas against Benetton (in the Rainbow Cup final in June), and we got a massive learning curve there and a massive wake-up call. We weren't good enough, and we were the first to admit that. A lot of things were a lot different to what we were used to as well – and it's not an excuse. Crowds, different training facilities … ” White said about what his team can expect in the United Rugby Championship.

“One gets into a bit of a comfort zone when you know you are playing the same team regularly, and you're playing in the same stadium and there are no crowds. You can train in almost the same facilities all the time. “Now it's different. We're going to Leinster, then to Connacht – and Connacht is a completely different team to what we are used to. Then we go to Cardiff and Edinburgh. I will address that as we get into the week and sit with a couple of the guys that I need to bounce a couple of things off. “We will enjoy the fact that this campaign is over, put our feet up for one or two days, and back to business at the back-end of this week.”

But despite the lacklustre display from the Sharks, who were unable to convert their possession into points and made a number of errors in defence, White feels that the Bulls did take a significant step forward in their development as a team during the Currie Cup.