The Bulls are travelling to Northampton in England for their Champions Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday on the back of a couple of brutal matches that have taken their toll on the side.

The Bulls took a 14-47 thumping in Dublin at the hands of Leinster, followed by a 59-19 Champions Cup mauling of Lyon in Pretoria last weekend. On the back of those two gruelling matches, including a challenging travel programme that they have had to endure, White is rumoured to be considering resting several players for the quarter-final against Northampton Saints at their Franklin’s Gardens ground.

White’s tactic would be geared towards ensuring that his charges are best rested for the rest of their United Rugby Championship programme, in particular with defending URC champs Munster heading to Loftus Versfeld for their Round 14 clash next week.

“Without giving my squad away, a lot of guys suffered bumps and bruises and a lot of guys need to be looked after as well. It is one of those difficult decisions for me to make. There are a lot of things I have to work on to ensure we can tick as many boxes as we can,” said White, adding that it is really difficult to find the balance between resting players and fielding one’s strongest side.

“It is important to understand that not only do we arrive [after eight different flights] at different times in England, we also arrive at different times back in South Africa on Monday. I want to ensure the Bulls are as competitive as we can be, every time we run out.”