Bulls stick with mix and match for Exeter trip

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Jake White has named a 29-man Vodacom Bulls tour squad for the Pool A Champions Cup clash away to Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

White has retained most of the players that did duty in the Champions Cup opening victory against French side Lyon in Pretoria.

This means that youngsters such as Bernard van der Linde, Stravino Jacobs and Muller Uys will get a second crack at Champions Cup rugby, while the majority of senior players prepare for the 23 December match against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town.

“We would like to do well in both the Champions Cup and the Vodacom United Rugby Championship but we must also be honest with ourselves in understanding the demanding traveling schedule,” said White, ahead of a 24-hour trip to England via Doha.

“We travel to Exeter now and then return to face the defending champions, Stormers the following weekend so selection is about making use of the resources at your disposal, but this doesn’t mean we are going into the game saying it doesn’t count.

“We want to win as many times as we can and when they come to visit us in January in 40-degree weather, coming out of their winter, it will be a daunting task for them and maybe that will give us a chance to find a way into the top 16 of the competition.”

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The Bulls are on a high after an enthralling game of rugby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, where The Herd registered a 42-36 victory over Lyon. However, White is expecting a tough clash against an Exeter side that is hard to beat at home.

“They were champions two years ago and they have internationals in almost every position playing in a tough venue to win at but I am expecting us to roll up our sleeves, to embrace the fact that we are going to a place where things will be tough but we must stand as man and give it a fair crack,” he said.

“The average age of our group is 22, these are youngsters and I want the senior players to help teach the youngsters about the tough days because these are the tough days; with big expectations playing against big teams on the road.”

“This will be a fantastic opportunity for the young guys to grow and experience what its like to be a professional player in a pressured situation. As a club team, traveling to where we are at the back of who we played, generally it doesn’t get tougher than this at club rugby.”

Photo: @BlueBullsRugby/Twitter

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Dylan Jack