Jake White calls on rugby fans to be player 24

“We are going to need everybody here, we need 52 000 people here like we did against the Stormers,” says Vodacom Bulls mentor and director of rugby, Jake White as he calls on the city and province to get behind his team ahead of the semi-finals of the 2023/24 Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

The Tshwane-based team will take on Irish giants, Leinster on Saturday 15 June (kick-off at 16h00) with tickets starting from R 50.00c only on Ticketpro.

“There is no use in having a home game and not using that as an advantage. So, my plea to the public is that we need them. We need for whoever comes here to feel as though the Loftus faithful are in full cry.”

White says the economic reality of the support base is not lost to everyone at Loftus.

“People are struggling and it is the middle of the month. The average local does not have the income to visit the stadium for quarterfinals, semi-finals and the Ireland test match (on 06 July). The average family cannot afford to watch four games of rugby in a month with two kids in the family,”

“Hopefully, we will be able to get in a few more people this week than last week (19 243 vs Benetton) because this is the dress rehearsal of the Springboks vs Ireland test match.”

The Vodacom Bulls mentor has also extended an invite to neighbouring city locals to traverse down the N1 for the big clash.

“I am hoping that even those who live in Jo’burg will travel down the highway to come and watch a great game.”

The two sides have already established a fierce rivalry in the short history of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and White says those lessons are not lost to his side.

“The one positive thing is they beat us 31-3 in the first round of our first year and we went on to beat them in the semi-finals at Leinster. So, it is not something that hasn’t been done by our group and the beauty of knockout rugby is anything is possible and anything can happen. If we can get a good start like we did in the quarterfinals, then they are under pressure,”

“Last weekend all the pressure was on us because no one gave Benetton a chance and this week all the pressure is on Leinster. They are probably going to have more pressure than us because the expectation is that Leinster should be winning with the international roster they have,”

“I hope we will be regrouping well and look after our bodies well and go into the game with the belief that it has been done before in Leinster and so we have to believe that it can be in the capital as well.”

Despite coming up against a side spoilt with international stars, White remains optimistic about his team’s chances on the weekend.

“We have measured ourselves against the best and whatever they have chucked at us, we have gotten it wrong at times and gotten it right at times. Reality is no one thinks we can beat Leinster like they didn’t a couple of years back and we did,”

“I believe that it can be done” he concludes.