CONTINUING WAR OF WORDS: SA Rugby responds to Jake White’s criticism, stating they did everything possible to secure the best flights for the 38-man Bulls squad.
SA Rugby has issued a statement detailing the flight arrangements and costs for the Bulls’ trip to London for their Champions Cup quarter-final, following Jake White’s public criticism of the national union.
White, serving as the Bulls’ director of rugby, criticized SA Rugby for the challenging travel arrangements to Europe for his team, arguing that the poor logistical planning compromises the competitiveness of South African teams in EPCR competitions.
This criticism followed the announcement of the Bulls’ exhaustive travel itinerary, involving multiple connecting flights and layovers, potentially affecting their preparation for the match against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday evening.
SA RUGBY AND JAKE WHITE’S VERBAL CLASH
The media extensively covered White’s outburst, prompting a rebuttal from SA Rugby.
Given the quarter-finals were confirmed late on Sunday, SA Rugby had a limited window to arrange travel for the 38-man squad heading to England.
“SA Rugby arranged 38 flights for the Vodacom Bulls’ Champions Cup quarter-final team – 33 in business class and five in economy.
“The team is scheduled to arrive in London before 8 am local time on Wednesday, having flown overnight in business class on two airlines: British Airways (24 players and management) and Lufthansa (4 players and management).
“The coach and CEO flew directly to London overnight on Virgin in business class. The remaining eight members of the tour group (four management and four players) traveled via Zurich, Doha, and Dubai,” detailed the SA Rugby statement.
“The demand for business class seats to and from South Africa, coupled with fewer flights entering the country and the late seat confirmation (Sunday evening), meant it was well understood that securing business class seats on a single flight would be challenging.
“Pre-booking seats was not considered viable due to the potential for 100% loss of flight costs for a group booking if it turned out to be unnecessary, as it was uncertain until 48 hours prior to departure whether the Vodacom Bulls would qualify, or if they would be playing at home or away.
“SA Rugby is confident that the flights provided for the Vodacom Bulls (costing SA Rugby R4,108,449.00) were the best possible solution under the circumstances.”
