Firm Jake reiterates Bulls weren't disrespecting Champs Cup with selection: 'We want to be here'

Despite an emphatic 37-point defeat suggesting true competitiveness was lacking during the 80 minutes at Franklin's Gardens, Jake White insists his decision to enlist what critics perceive to have been a B-team for Saturday night's Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton was "blown out of proportion".

The Bulls' director of rugby made a telling 14 changes to his starting line-up from the previous week and left around 11 first-choice members in Pretoria in a move that led to EPCR, the governing body for the Champions and Challenge Cups, sending formal correspondence to the franchise and SA Rugby seeking an explanation.

It's understood several stakeholders believe the selection policy undermines the auspiciousness of the stage of the competition.