Jake White says the Bulls’ surprise win over a SA A side on Saturday will in no way be an indication of what will happen in the Boks’ Test series against the British & Irish Lions.
Although a new-look SA A side initially opened up a 14-0 lead against the Bulls on Saturday, they faded in the second half and ultimately slipped to a 17-14 defeat.
However, White laughed off any suggestion after the match that this result would dent the Springboks’ confidence heading into the Test series.
“I know you guys want me to say there’s a crisis and that there should be some headline news about this,” White said afterwards.
“But the Boks needed a hit out and had to give some guys game-time. There’s no way that this result will be an indication of what will happen next week when the Test series starts.
“I don’t think this performance, just like the Lions against SA A earlier this week, should be one that’s read too much into…
“The Tests start from zero. The Stormers will play the Lions [in the final tour match] and even that result is meaningless in terms of the bigger picture. Next week, when the two sides pick their first-choice sides, that’s when the real action starts,” said White.
“From a Springbok view, no-one’s ever going to remember a friendly. People will remember the Test series, they remember the results of the big games, whether it be 1974, 1997 or 2009.
“The Springboks will definitely be only focusing really on what happens next week and rightly so.”
