Bulls boss Jake White plays altitude, scrum mind-games with Sharks ahead of Loftus showdown

Cape Town – Jake White is never short of a word when trying to put the pressure on the opposition, and after the Bulls lost their last match to the Sharks, he is plotting a revenge in their United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (5.05pm kickoff).

The Durban side won 30-16 at Kings Park in early December, and White knows that his team have to win the return match in Pretoria, especially after the Bulls went down to the Stormers on home soil a few weeks ago.

On Friday, after making three changes to the starting XV, White ramped up the heat on the Sharks, whose coach Sean Everitt said this week that his team “don’t talk about altitude anymore”, as they had taken the Bulls to extra time in the Currie Cup final at Loftus previously.

“I think most sports stars go and train at altitude before the Olympic Games. So, who knows, maybe they will start at sea level if it’s not that important!” White quipped on Friday.

“Let’s see … the proof is in whether they can (start fast). They are the one team that kick a lot and play very slowly, and the rest that they have in between plays is longer than any other team we’ve ever played against in URC.

“I would be very happy if they play very quickly. Having coached a long time and having been a Phys Ed master, I would tell you that altitude does play a significant role. That’s why top sportsmen go to altitude before the Olympic Games and train there.

“If Dobbo (Stormers coach John Dobson) and Sean think they can bypass what science has proven over the last 100 years, well, good luck!”

Then White took aim at the scrums, where the Bulls were heavily penalised two weeks ago against the Lions, but then had the edge against the same opponents seven days later.

Now the