Bulls prepare for Tour Unknown as URC and Challenge Cup clash

By Doug Mattushek
30th March 2025

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White faces a challenging month as his charges depart for what could be a five-week tour to the northern hemisphere.

The Bulls' first stop is in France for their Challenge Cup Round of 16 clash against Bayonne next week. Should they win, the quarterfinals are scheduled for the following weekend and given their ranking, the Bulls will be playing opposition in Europe.

Then the United Rugby Championship resumes and it doesn't get any easier for Jake White's men. They've been tasked with the tough assignment of facing Irish heavyweights Munster and then defending URC champions Glasgow Warriors on the 19th and 25th of April, respectively.

If the Bulls had won their Challenge Cup quarterfinal, the following weekend sees the semifinals take place and once again, they could face opposition in Europe.

The difficult logistical implications are not lost on White, especially since the franchise does not have the luxury of flying in another team during their stay in the North. As such, it's all hands on deck for the Bulls.

"I don't think any team can fly teams back and forth, it's logistically impossible even if I wanted to take another team and rest some guys," said White after the Bulls' 63-24 rout of Zebre.

"So I'll take a team and I'm not sure how we'll start next week. I'll make a call about which sort of team we need to put on the field. The conditions are different. I don't think it will be as open as this game was today [Saturday].

"We don't have the luxury of flying teams back and forth. Once we go, we almost have to start preparing for four weeks on tour. It could be five.

"If you win against Bayonne and you win in the next round, you then stay for the semifinal, which is after the Glasgow game.

"So I will have to box a little differently in terms of how we get to the backend of the tour. It could be that we end up playing them [Munster] in the quarterfinals and Glasgow in the semifinals. Or we can end up playing Glasgow in the final again.

"We want to use this tour, especially the URC games, as a dress rehearsal for where we are and what we need to do."