White welcomes Ulster threat with double Duane Vermeulen whammy: We must play these teams

Bulls director of rugby Jake White says Saturday's United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster at Loftus Versfeld is part of the journey they'll have to take should they reach the playoffs.

There's also the Duane Vermeulen factor at Ulster, whom White said knows the Bulls inside out and will mean the Bulls have to change tactics here and there.

The Vermeulen factor though is just part of the terrain the Bulls have to navigate to make up for the early tournament miss-steps and the unfortunate slip-ups on the local derbies.

White spoke on the back of his team's 55-20 demolition of the Dragons at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, their third consecutive success at the Sunnyside ground.

URC Log

White said Ulster were unlucky to lose to the Stormers and the challenge they'll pose is one the Bulls need.

"I watched that game with interest and I thought they were very unlucky and there will be a lot of debate about that final try," White said.

"Had they scored there, they would have won the game, but it's going to be a tough game and they've also got Duane.

"He'll know a lot more about us more than any other player. He was the captain here and knows the intricacies of everything we've done in the past two years.

"That's something we'll have to think about, but it won't get any easier because if you want to be in the playoffs, you'll have to play the big Irish teams again.

"We've got to be good enough at home and make sure we prepare as well as we can because it's a home game.

"We've left the door open for ourselves. We must make sure we don't close it."

The Irish teams in the URC are what the New Zealand sides were for SA in Super Rugby. The all-around threat offered by Ulster is something that excites White.

The Bulls dropped points in big