Feisty Jake downplays Bulls slump: 'Can't be a crisis if you're alive in all competitions'

The Bulls in a hole? What hole?

Jake White was quick to question creeping doubts among supporters and observers over the status of his long-term project at Loftus, feelings exacerbated by last weekend's nasty 15-63 Currie Cup pasting at the hands of a rampant Pumas at home.

And, to be fair, there can't be much quibbling about why such perceptions exist as since their 43-36 opening Champions Cup victory over Lyon at home on 10 December, the Bulls have lost eight of their 11 matches across three competitions.

In-between the team has had to deal with various off-field issues such as inspirational skipper Marcell Coetzee going on a sabbatical to Japan, processing the heartache and subsequent joy of Sbu Nkosi's absence and return due to his mental health challenges and White's own six-week sick leave after emergency surgery.  

Clearly drawing inspiration from previous campaigns, the Bulls' director of rugby is more focused on how his troops end this campaign instead of dwelling on a poor run of form.

"I can sense that people are asking questions, but I can tell them that we've never been here before. We have youngsters who've never felt this sort of circumstances before. It's a challenge we've got to get through," White said on Thursday evening ahead of Friday night's Currie Cup showdown with Western Province at Loftus.

"How can you be in a crisis when you're still in the top 8 of the URC, in the last 16 of the Champions Cup and only lost one Currie Cup game to date? I certainly don't believe you can call that a hole.

"These are situations we have to go through as a group. We've got to go through these times. I know we'll get through this. It's still a long way to go. No-one's won anything yet. Last year Leinster won all their