Top four showdown a battle of brilliant rugby mind

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   Jake White
versus Franco Smith is a battle of two outstanding rugby minds, both with
international coaching experience and both leading the charge into this
season's Vodacom United Rugby Championship play-offs.

If rugby is a
contact sport, then in the week there has been as much chess played by
both coaches in their preparations in their off-field approach to getting a win
at Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday.

Smith, a former
Springbok, has been a revelation at Glasgow's Warriors and claiming the scalp
of White's Vodacom Bulls at Loftus in Pretoria would be massive on a personal
level and in the context of the Warriors' aspirations to finish the league in
first place.

Smith played
the last of his nine Tests for the Springboks, at Loftus against the All Blacks
in 1999. The Boks lost 34-18. 

Now Smith is
eyeing a different type of result and emotion at Loftus, albeit in a different
guise and in a different era, with this weekend's match 25 years on from the
disappointment of the All Blacks defeat and the end of his Test career.

With three
rounds of the regular season remaining, the Vodacom Bulls are in fourth place
with 51 points, trailing leaders Glasgow Warriors (58).

Smith, who
spent several years playing and coaching in Italy, which included a spell as
coach of the Italian national side, has added an attacking dimension to
Glasgow's armour and Saturday’s blockbuster in Pretoria is being billed as a
try festival.

White's Bulls
have scored the most tries in the league, with 68, and the Warriors and
Leinster are joint second with 64 tries.

Glasgow Warriors
have 12 wins in the 2023-24 campaign, and speaking in the run-up to this week’s
clash, Vodacom Bulls co-captain Ruan Nortje acknowledged the potency of the
league leaders.

“They play at
an incredible pace and they catch teams off guard,” he told reporters.

“This is one of
those teams that is sometimes seven or 10 points ahead within a few minutes.
They have a good group of players together, and Franco Smith seems to have
established a good culture and he knows how to win at Loftus (from his days
with the Cheetahs)."

Bulls teammate
Jannes Kirsten, who made his long-awaited debut in the Vodacom URC in a 61-24 win
against Ospreys at Loftus two weeks ago, added: “We can see in the way Glasgow
attacks, and their set piece, there is a lot of South African influence, but
the message will be the same: it’s going to be a battle in the set piece.

“They’ve scored the most maul tries in the competition, and that’s also a big
indication of what they’re focusing on. We’re also going to look at exposing
them on attack but it’s going to come down to who is going to control the tempo
and stay in control of the ball and the game they want to play. It’s going to
be a good one."

Following their mauling of Ospreys, the Vodacom Bulls are assured of a place in
the final eight but a maiden home semi-final is still a possibility if White’s
Bulls can maintain their rampant run by steamrolling the Glasgow Warriors.

“We’re in a very good place, we’re obviously pushing for home playoffs and it’s
still in our hands, so it’s a great position to be in," Kirsten
said. "You have to treat the last three games like a playoff because
we’ve got to win to get those home playoffs. Fortunately it’s not about what
other teams have to do or not do, or who has to win or lose so we can get home
playoffs.
"The main
focus is to get the points and if we do our part, we can really push on. The
next two games at home are going to be really important for us.”

White, who has
targeted the Vodacom URC as the title he wants this season, knows the value of home
ground advantage when it comes to play-offs. But he also knows that his team
can be beaten in Pretoria, as evidenced by Munster three weeks ago.

Playing at
home, said White, is an advantage, but it is never a guarantee to victory.

There is a lot
of respect within the Vodacom Bulls camp for Smith and for what he is building
in Glasgow and there is enough honesty from the Bulls players that to win they
have to be at their best.

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Transvaal Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 30-Mar-2016 Status: Offline Points: 39245	Post Options Post Reply Quote Transvaal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Top four showdown a battle of brilliant rugby mind Posted: 09-May-2024 at 2:23pm
	Jake White versus Franco Smith is a battle of two outstanding rugby minds, both with international coaching experience and both leading the charge into this season's Vodacom United Rugby Championship play-offs. If rugby is a contact sport, then in the week there has been as much chess played by both coaches in their preparations in their off-field approach to getting a win at Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday. Smith, a former Springbok, has been a revelation at Glasgow's Warriors and claiming the scalp of White's Vodacom Bulls at Loftus in Pretoria would be massive on a personal level and in the context of the Warriors' aspirations to finish the league in first place. Smith played the last of his nine Tests for the Springboks, at Loftus against the All Blacks in 1999. The Boks lost 34-18. Now Smith is eyeing a different type of result and emotion at Loftus, albeit in a different guise and in a different era, with this weekend's match 25 years on from the disappointment of the All Blacks defeat and the end of his Test career. With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Vodacom Bulls are in fourth place with 51 points, trailing leaders Glasgow Warriors (58). Smith, who spent several years playing and coaching in Italy, which included a spell as coach of the Italian national side, has added an attacking dimension to Glasgow's armour and Saturday’s blockbuster in Pretoria is being billed as a try festival. White's Bulls have scored the most tries in the league, with 68, and the Warriors and Leinster are joint second with 64 tries. Glasgow Warriors have 12 wins in the 2023-24 campaign, and speaking in the run-up to this week’s clash, Vodacom Bulls co-captain Ruan Nortje acknowledged the potency of the league leaders. “They play at an incredible pace and they catch teams off guard,” he told reporters. “This is one of those teams that is sometimes seven or 10 points ahead within a few minutes. They have a good group of players together, and Franco Smith seems to have established a good culture and he knows how to win at Loftus (from his days with the Cheetahs)." Bulls teammate Jannes Kirsten, who made his long-awaited debut in the Vodacom URC in a 61-24 win against Ospreys at Loftus two weeks ago, added: “We can see in the way Glasgow attacks, and their set piece, there is a lot of South African influence, but the message will be the same: it’s going to be a battle in the set piece. “They’ve scored the most maul tries in the competition, and that’s also a big indication of what they’re focusing on. We’re also going to look at exposing them on attack but it’s going to come down to who is going to control the tempo and stay in control of the ball and the game they want to play. It’s going to be a good one." Following their mauling of Ospreys, the Vodacom Bulls are assured of a place in the final eight but a maiden home semi-final is still a possibility if White’s Bulls can maintain their rampant run by steamrolling the Glasgow Warriors. “We’re in a very good place, we’re obviously pushing for home playoffs and it’s still in our hands, so it’s a great position to be in," Kirsten said. "You have to treat the last three games like a playoff because we’ve got to win to get those home playoffs. Fortunately it’s not about what other teams have to do or not do, or who has to win or lose so we can get home playoffs. "The main focus is to get the points and if we do our part, we can really push on. The next two games at home are going to be really important for us.” White, who has targeted the Vodacom URC as the title he wants this season, knows the value of home ground advantage when it comes to play-offs. But he also knows that his team can be beaten in Pretoria, as evidenced by Munster three weeks ago. Playing at home, said White, is an advantage, but it is never a guarantee to victory. There is a lot of respect within the Vodacom Bulls camp for Smith and for what he is building in Glasgow and there is enough honesty from the Bulls players that to win they have to be at their best.