Jake White rates Bulls shock win over Leinster highly: 'It's got to be up there'

Bulls director of rugby Jake White hinted that you could file that 27-26 victory of Leinster on the top shelf of his achievements as a coach, where you'll find the 2007 Rugby World Cup final against England among many.

It was the kind of gusty performance one needs to, for example, beat Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros or Michael Phelps in an Olympic swimming pool. That's how tough it was to topple Leinster in Dublin to make the United Rugby Championship (URC) final.

It needed everything the Bulls had and more. They answered the call and put their bodies on the line but not aimlessly, either, as is SA's wont. They were measured and calculated.

READ | Bulls shock overwhelming favourites Leinster to book URC final spot

Where they faltered, they suffered through Leinster ingenuity and predatory attacking. They seldom gifted the hosts anything on a platter.

"It's got to be up there," said White after the match, keeping his emotions in check.

"As I said before the game, it was an incredible Leinster team, which dominated European rugby in the last couple of years.

"I looked at their record: 225 games in PRO 14, lost 21. All those international players. What's really pleasing was that we started against them in week one, and the learnings and understanding of what we needed to do next time we played them were evident [Friday].

"And that's why I'm so excited. It's not just the fact that we beat them, it's that the group has grown significantly in the last [nine] months."

Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar, who scored their first try, scavenged on the floor, while Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp and Janko Swanepoel made a mess of the Leinster lineout.

The all-Irish international front row of Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadgh Furlong toiled against