Cape Town - Jake White expressed his delight with how the Bulls attacked in their 38-31 United Rugby Championship victory over the Ospreys on Friday night.
The Bulls scored six tries and produced some scintillating passages with ball-in-hand after their forwards dominated the highly experienced Ospreys pack.
Outside centre Cornal Hendricks grabbed a hat-trick, but such was the momentum generated by the big men upfront that any one of them could have received the award as well.
"He was outstanding. He played really well. I thought at times we played really well," the Bulls boss said.
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"I thought we played really well tonight. I thought there were times where the way we attacked, the shape we attacked, the kind of speed we played with.
"The ruck speed and precision of understanding where to go and how to get back on our feet was at times as good as any team we’ve played against this year.
"That’s two years of working with these players. I am very happy for Cornal, I thought Cornal played well, and I didn’t choose the Man of the Match. But I wouldn’t have been surprised if Gerhard Steenekamp was Man of the Match as well. At times, he was outstanding as well.”
Now it's a nervous wait for the Pretoria outfit to see who they will face in the quarter-finals in a fortnight.
They are currently third on the log, but if the Stormers beat the Scarlets or Munster get the better of Leinster later on Saturday, the Bulls will miss out on a home playoff at Loftus Versfeld.
"We just want to play a home game. Things have changed so quickly – all of a sudden, the Sharks lose to Ulster. Munster playing Leinster, and everyone thought Leinster would be the favourites to win. Scarlets are playing at home, but Stormers should be favourites to win," White said.
"All I said to the players was that we were going to have to play away anyway – whether we play a quarter-final, semi-final or final away, because we are not going to end first or second.
"If it means we have to play one week earlier away, the Sharks and we showed today that you can win away from home if you play well enough. So, let’s see what happens tomorrow (Saturday).”
Scorers
Ospreys 31 – Tries: Jac Morgan, Luke Morgan (2), Sam Parry. Conversions: Gareth Anscombe (4). Penalty: Anscombe (1).
Bulls 38 – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Chris Smith, Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks (3). Conversions: Chris Smith (4).