Cape Town - What do you do if you have three weeks before your next match? That is the conundrum facing Jake White as the Bulls prime themselves for the United Rugby Championship playoffs.
The Pretoria side secured a quarter-final spot on Friday night with a 29-17 bonus-point victory over Glasgow Warriors at Loftus Versfeld, as well as Champions Cup qualification for next season.
The Bulls are now sixth on 53 points, three ahead of Glasgow and Edinburgh, who are both on 50.
But the Scottish sides face each other on May 21, so only the winner of that match can move above the Bulls.
The lowest captain Marcell Coetzee’s team can finish is seventh, as the ninth-placed Scarlets are on 44.
The Bulls’ next URC encounter is only on May 20 against the Ospreys in Wales. Before that, they have two Currie Cup games – against Griquas on May 7 and the Lions on May 14, both at Loftus Versfeld.
Should the former Springbok coach rest all his main players before the Ospreys clash, or play them in the Currie Cup?
“When we played every Wednesday-Saturday, Wednesday-Saturday, we played our best rugby! So, maybe this team will just keep on playing. The Currie Cup for us at the Bulls is really important, so it’s not a case of we can put our feet up and everything is finished,” White said after the Glasgow match.
“There are three matches left over the next three weeks, and even though it’s two Currie Cup games and the Ospreys (URC) game, it’s important that we maintain that momentum.
“We looked a bit flat against Benetton last week because we had two weeks off, so there’s probably going to be a bit of management in keeping the squad hungry and fresh, but also maybe some guys who may need limited time – like Harold Vorster didn’t really do much tonight, so maybe we might give Harold a go next week.
“Janko (Swanepoel, lock) got a bang to his head and came off, so we must see how he does. I haven’t yet decided which team and who will play or not. The five guys who have been invited to the Springbok alignment camp will go on Monday, so we must just look and see how the injuries and options are, and then I will make a decision.
“Once I get the health feedback from the doc tomorrow, and also look at the log (Saturday) night and see where we are in terms of the URC – who has won and lost – that would also give me a better understanding of what I need to do next.”
The Bulls got their vital bonus point through tries by Zak Burger, Madosh Tambwe, Walt Steenkamp and Cyle Brink, but were far from the free-flowing side that have racked up some big scores at Loftus Versfeld this year.
That may have been due to the absence of injured strike-runner Kurt-Lee Arendse, while White also felt that Glasgow were a difficult team to break down.
“We didn’t play well… and when I say that, it doesn’t sound right. We played really well at times, and we probably showed a little bit of naivety in game management. Last week we were 31-21 up, and it’s almost like we wanted to start to show the crowd that we can play, and we let the team (Benetton) back in again,” he said.
“And tonight we did the same. We wrestled them and wrestled them and wrestled them, and when I thought we had done enough – and I think the players did as well – all of a sudden, we start going into a different style.
“And we’ve got to be careful because when we play good sides like this, it can come back to bite you.”