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The good, the jab and the rugby ... Bulls hit the road

Mahlatse Mphahlele

The Bulls players and management have been vaccinated ahead of their trip to the crosshemisphere Pro14 Rainbow Cup final against Italian side Benetton Treviso at the Stadio di Monigo in Italy on Saturday.

Benetton Treviso will be representing the northern hemisphere while the Bulls will represent the south after winning the SA leg of the competition by beating the Sharks 34-22 in Durban on Saturday.

Bulls coach Jake White said they have received their jabs but there will be further tests in the build-up to the match in Treviso.

“As it stands now‚ we have been part of the Sisonke vaccination programme‚ so we have ticked that box‚” White said.

“But obviously‚ there will be Covid-19 protocols in terms of polymerase chain reaction [PCR] testing‚ which we will do in the morning‚ and the results come back from the laboratory. Hopefully everything will be fine.”

White added that it is exciting to have the opportunity of taking on Benetton Treviso after the Bulls dominated the domestic scene during Super Rugby

Unlocked‚ the Preparation Series‚ the Currie Cup and the Rainbow Cup.

“I don’t think it is a reward; I think it is an exciting time for everybody‚” he added.

“The whole of SA is keen to see a different game compared to the local derbies that we have played. Through circumstances, we have had to play each other so many times‚ in the Super Rugby Unlocked‚ the Preparation Series‚ the Rainbow Cup or the Currie Cup.

“I just saw Sharks coach Sean Everitt and he said‚ ‘Go win it for SA’. The reality is that everyone in [the country] wants to see something different and this is a chance for us.

“We want to play in the north and that has been happening behind the scenes at SA Rugby‚ and this is a chance to be the first team to play in the north and measure ourselves against the competition there.

“I am looking forward to taking this team and seeing how good we are when playing against a team that is unbeaten in the Rainbow Cup,” White said.

There were some logistics to be sorted out before they flew out on Monday night.

SPORT DAY

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2021-06-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

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