Jake rubbishes talk that Bulls peaked too early in Dublin: 'Lots of WhatsApps isn't winning'

Bulls mentor Jake White has emphatically dismissed a stream of thought that his team peaked too early in their brilliant semi-final victory over Leinster last week ahead of Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) final.

Some commentators, notably former Springbok consultant and Lions coach Swys de Bruin, earlier this week pondered if the men from Loftus over-exerted themselves mentally and might perhaps fall a bit flat when they meet the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium.

But White believes if his charges' reaction after the win in Dublin is anything to go by, they will be more than up for the challenge.

"Last week when we beat Leinster, we didn't celebrate," said the franchise's director of rugby.

"It wasn't like we achieved anything. I can tell you that the guys were happy, but they weren't jumping around and celebrating like everything is done. That's a good sign for a coach."

His skipper, irrepressible flanker Marcell Coetzee, has continually reiterated over the past few weeks that the Bulls have been playing knockout rugby ever since they've had rescue themselves from a poor start to the campaign.

Furthermore, White's troops have won two of the three finals they've appeared over the past two years.

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"We've had to jump up from 15th on the log. I remember people sharing screenshots of us being second last on the table. We've had to play knockout rugby for most of this campaign," he said.

"[World Cup-winning Springbok coach] Kitch Christie always used to say that you have to play your best rugby in a final and that's the reality.

"We got nothing from winning in Dublin. You maybe get 250 WhatsApp messages from your mates congratulating you, but