Bulls
Adriaan Strauss
It appears Cheetahs hooker Adriaan Strauss will make a U-turn and decide not to move from the Cheetahs to the Bulls.
It was reported earlier that Strauss’s move to Pretoria was a done deal, but business interests in Bloemfontein now look likely to keep Strauss at the Cheetahs.
According to reports, the Cheetahs also significantly upped their offer for Strauss and he said that he’ll make a final decision on his future this week.
“And then people want to know why we take drugs, to forget the fact that we are dressed as turds, that’s why”
In rugby, like most sports, teams and athletes have had a bad playing strip or two. Individual sports that comes to mind is cycling and golf. There have been some truly terrible creations that those athletes have worn, all in the name of sponsorship and moolah.
In rugby, its generally the alternate, or so called away strip, where designers indulge in a bit too much whacky weed before sitting down in front of the drawing boards. For the most part, kits are practical and speak of tradition and history, however, there are times that the Sporting and Designing Gods sincerely fall out and abominations like the ones that appear below.
These choices of ours are by no means exhaustive and is fairly recent in it’s selection, however, if you disagree, let us know and tell us which ones you think should have made the cut.
There’s ccertainly been some strange kit in recent years!
It appears the Kit sponsors want to stamp some sort of mark on their creations, so prepare yourself for some more strange jerseys in future!
Jacques Potgieter – enjoying the Sydney experience
I’m sure that everybody who has been following the Waratahs and their progress to ending first on the 2014 Super Rugby log will agree that Jacques Potgieter has played an integral part in their rise.
He has been playing with the same robust “kamikaze” style that first got Heyneke Meyer to lure him to the Bulls, and that gave him his three Springbok caps, but he has refined his game at the same time.
As good as he has been to the Waratahs, the Waratahs have been equally good to him. He has evolved as a rugby player and instead of the Bulls forward blueprint of head down and charge, he has been delivering some deft offloads and touches. He is a much more rounded player, and the frightening part is, all within the space of one season.
Flip van der Merwe
Springbok and Bulls lock Flip van der Merwe is only expected back on the field next year, but he’s already determined to make a positive return going into the next Rugby World Cup.
Van der Merwe suffered a serious knee injury during the second Springbok Test against Wales in June. He’s set to be sidelined for six months, which means he’ll only make his comeback during next year’s Super Rugby tournament.
The 29-year-old will miss the Springboks’ Rugby Championship campaign and end-of-year European tour, as well as the Blue Bulls’ Currie Cup campiagn.
Bulls (12) 40 / 7 (7) Rebels (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Melbourne Rebels did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versveld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (03:10 Saturday AEST, 17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Frans Ludeke
As the well-worn idiom goes: ‘The tallest trees catch the most wind.’ In the case of Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, that has come in the form of harsh criticism.
While there was some critique over his ‘management’ of veteran Victor Matfield and numerous barbs over his backline choices, it was the selection of his loose forwards that attracted the most fiendish and frightful comments.
The Bulls were particularly vulnerable at the breakdowns, where the absence of a specialist openside flank – in the wake of injuries to Deon Stegmann and Dewald Potgieter – cost them dearly.
Ludeke persisted with Jono Ross, who by his own admission is more suitable on the blindside or at No 8.
Luther Obi
The Vodacom Bulls have already lost their chance to bring Jacques Potgieter back, and now it seems they’re likely to lose another tussle with the Lions for the services of promising winger Luther Obi.
Obi has been seen as the long-term replacement at the Pretoria union for veteran winger Akona Ndungane, whose contract runs out at the end of the season.
But the Bulls were negotiating with Obi anyway, until they were told to stop by the Leopards Rugby Union as he still has a year to run on his contract.
The Leopards have made it clear that they will entertain a move for Obi for Vodacom Super Rugby if the Bulls want him, but that this will be subject to a transfer fee negotiation.
Roelof Smit
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke handed flanker Roelof Smit a first time starting berth in announcing his team to play the Melbourne Rebels at Loftus Versfeld on Friday. Smit debuted for the Vodacom Bulls from the bench against the DHL Stormers last weekend and now start in the number six jersey in one of seven changes to the starting line-up.
Jurgen Visser is back at fullback, having recovered from an abductor strain that kept him out of the Newlands clash and replace Ulrich Beyers. Francois Hougaard will play on the wing, replacing the injured Akona Ndungane, with Piet van Zyl starting at scrumhalf. With Grant Hattingh injured, Jacques Engelbrecht will move back to No 8, Jono Ross moves to 7 and Smit slots in at 6.
Jacques Potgieter
The Waratahs used the power of the Australian dollar to kill off any hopes that the Vodacom Bulls may have had of luring utility forward Jacques Potgieter back to South Africa.
Potgieter is currently having a superb season with the Vodacom Super Rugby log leaders and has been one of the reasons Michael Cheika’s side has been doing so well, using his skills to good effect to provide more than just a traditional forward role with the Sydney-based franchise.
The Bulls had opened negotiations with Potgieter to return for next year’s Super Rugby tournament after he left them a year ago, but these were snubbed out by the Waratahs, who made a significant counter offer to keep him in Sydney.
It is understood that Potgieter wanted to return to try and make the squad for the Rugby World Cup after being in the Springbok set-up in 2012.
Jan Serfontein
Handré Pollard
Marcel van der Merwe
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd confirmed that three incumbent Springboks, Jan Serfontein, Handre Pollard and Marcel van der Merwe extended their commitments to the Vodacom Bulls and Vodacom Blue Bulls.
Serfontein (2017), Van der Merwe (2016) and Pollard (2017) all confirmed or extended their contracts with the BBC.
Van der Merwe made his international debut for the Springboks against Scotland last weekend and according to the Manager: High Performance at the BBC, Xander Janse van Rensburg, a true reflection of the abilities of the prop.
Stormers (16) 16 / 0 (0) Bulls (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Victor Matfield
Handré Pollard
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named Victor Matfield to lead the team to play the DHL Stormers at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
Ludeke made four changes and a positional switch to the starting team that lost their last Vodacom Super Rugby outing, against the Lions in Johannesburg, with Matfield and Paul Willemse starting at lock and Handré Pollard at flyhalf. Werner Kruger also swop with Marcel van der Merwe in the regular rotation of the front row.
Grant Hattingh will vacate the lock position to make way for Matfield and again move to the back of the scrum in a positional switch that will also see Jacques Engelbrecht run out at flank.
Matfield was rested against the Lions and will lock the scrum with Willemse, who replaces injured captain, Flip van der Merwe, in the number four jersey. Engelbrecht’s move to the side of the scrum is a result of the injury to Jacques du Plessis.
Pollard missed the Lions clash due to his Junior Springbok commitments in New Zealand and returns to start at number 10. Jacques-Louis Potgieter moves to the bench in place of Louis Fouché.
Handré Pollard
Handre Pollard is not your typical Bulls flyhalf and when he is in control, the Bulls become a different creature all together.
Pollard has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom culminating in a starting No 10 spot for the Springboks against Scotland on the weekend.
Now, as he returns to Pretoria to get ready for his first senior match in his home province at Newlands, against the Stormers, Pollard is already causing a lot of head-scratching in the Cape.
The Bulls have always been a powerful yet predictable side, especially when it comes to the flyhalf’s role.
Burger Geldenhuys
Former Springbok and Bulls loose forward Burger Geldenhuys fears the Pretoria side may struggle at the breakdowns against the Stormers at Newlands this weekend.
With Jacques du Plessis out with a broken jaw, and Deon Stegmann still sidelined with a groin injury, the Bulls will tackle the Stormers with a slightly make-shift loose trio.
Grant Hattingh, Jacques Engelbrecht and Jono Ross are likely to have their hands full on the ground. None of them are renowned for being great ball fetchers.
The South African Conference resumes this weekend in Round 18, after watching the Australian and New Zealand franchises in action which ensured that there is likely to be only one team from the Republic in the finals.
The Sharks, long guaranteed the South African Conference, will finish in the top three while two more victories will ensure that Jake White’s team finish in the top two position and lock up a home Semi Final.
The Bulls still have an outside chance of reaching the Finals Series, but their hopes were dealt a blow with a 32-21 loss to the Lions before the June break.
The Stormers have become one of the premier spoilers in Super Rugby so far, while the Lions and Cheetahs have likely already begun planning for the Currie Cup and 2015 season.
Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
Roelof Smit
The Vodacom Bulls are set to hand Super Rugby debuts to two young players this weekend when they head to Cape Town for their Vodacom Super Rugby match against the DHL Stormers at Newlands.
Both SA Under 20 lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Tuks flank Roelof Smit are likely to be among the reserves as the Bulls look to patch up the cracks left by injuries after a long and arduos Super Rugby season.
And there will be no rest for the weary. As predicted the Bulls will use all their Springboks for the game which they need to win with a bonus point to continue their mathematical hope of making the playoffs.
Adriaan Strauss
The Vodacom Bulls could have snapped up the signing of the year locally as Springbok hooker and Toyota Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss looks set to be heading back to Pretoria.
Strauss is yet to sign the contract, and the Bulls could only open negotiations with him today – 1 July – but sources close to the Cheetahs camp have confirmed that Strauss has already said no to a contract extension with his province and now seems set on returning to Pretoria.
The Grey College graduate, who played his junior rugby in Pretoria and made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut there as well, before returning to the Cheetahs is being chased as well by the Stormers, who also have made a big money offer to sign him.
But it seems the Bulls have won the race, with indications that the deal could be finalised this week already and that Strauss will be a possible captain for the Bulls in next year’s Super Rugby series.
Flip van der Merwe
Flip van der Merwe’s season ended with a whimper rather than a bang as the big lock was ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.
Van der Merwe, who hurt himself in the closing minutes of the one-point victory over Wales in Nelspruit this past weekend, underwent a scan and was sent for a specialist opinion by the Springbok management on Monday.
And the news was not good.
The specialist ruled that Van der Merwe had to undergo surgery on his posterior cruciate ligament, and will therefore be out for six months.
Louis Fouché
Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Louis Fouche has become the latest player to leave Loftus Versfeld after signing a one-year deal with the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
Fouche, who had a tough season with the Bulls, being dropped after the second game of this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby, has struggled to get back into the team with the likes of Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Handre Pollard ahead of him in the pecking order.
Since then, Fouche has played just a handful of games in the Vodacom Cup and decided to take up an offer in Japan to further his career there.
Vlok Cilliers
Paul Willemse
Jacques du Plessis
News from the Bulls camp, prior to joining Super Rugby action again after the June Test break has not been so good!
Jacques du Plessis, Blindside flank of the Bulls broke his jaw in the warm-up match over the weekend against namibia and is set to miss the rest of the Bulls Super Rugby campaign.
In addition, the Bulls have confirmed that lock Paul Willemse, has signed a 2-year deal with French Club, Grenoble and they have also confirmed that the Bulls kicking consultant, Vlok Cilliers will join the WP as from July 2014.
Paul Willemse
French Top 14 club Grenoble are reportedly hunting the services of promising Bulls lock Paul Willemse.
According to reports, there are rumours that he could leave the Bulls after the completion of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Bulls though insisted that the 21-year-old Willemse would play for them in the Currie Cup later this year.
Deon Stegmann
Deon Stegmann may make his long-awaited return to action when the Vodacom Bulls head for Windhoek for a friendly match against the Namibian national team this weekend.
While Stegmann was only expected to make a return to Currie Cup action later, his inclusion in a team for the breakaway trip may well mean that he will get some game time. It also means he could be back for the last few games in this year’s Vodacom Super Rugby series.
Vlok Cilliers
Western Province and the Stormers are reportedly hunting the services of Bulls kicking consultant Vlok Cilliers.
Cilliers, a former flyhalf who played one Test for the Boks in 1996, started working as the Bulls’ kicking coach in 2004.
Luke Watson
After a lengthy layoff through a foot injury, Luke Watson is excited to be back in the EP Kings team to face the Bulls in a Super Rugby friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The 30-year-old loose forward was named by coach Carlos Spencer as captain of the team and would lead the side from the back of the scrum.
Watson has been out of rugby since the Super Rugby competition last year, having been hampered by a broken foot bone.
Jacques-Louis Potgieter
The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd is pleased to confirm that flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter has signed an extension to his contract till 2016.
Potgieter joined the Vodacom Bulls earlier in the season from France following stints with Bayonne and Dax and immediately proved to be a valuable asset to the squad.
He has started in 10 of 12 matches since his arrival and scored 142 points at an average of 11.8 points per match. This included a try, 13 conversions, 34 penalties and three dropped goals.
Lions (9) 32 / 21 (6) Bulls (Final Score)
The Lions and Vodacom Bulls did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made three changes to his starting pack of forwards for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Jacques Engelbrecht moves from the bench to start at No 8, with Grant Hattingh moving to lock in place of Victor Matfield who is rested. In another rotational swop, Marcel van der Merwe will start at tight head, with Werner Kruger playing off the bench.
Wimpie van der Walt replaces Engelbrecht on the bench, where there is also a return for Louis Fouché. The flyhalf will replace Handré Pollard, who is captaining the Junior Springboks in New Zealand. William Small-Smith is also back after illness and replaces Ulrich Beyers on the bench.
The Cell C Sharks returned from their Australasian tour at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby Log while the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers continued their good home form this weekend.
The Durbanites beat the Blues for the 10th consecutive time, by 29-23, in Albany on Friday morning. They won 3 from 4 on tour Down Under, which is equal to their best tour ever in 2009, and bagged 13 Log points in Australasia, firming their grip of the top spot on the standings after 4 tough games abroad.
Later on Friday, the Vodacom Bulls were at their brutal best as they probably recorded their best win of the season when they dismantled the 2013 runners up, the Brumbies, by 44-23 at Loftus Versfeld. The score probably flattered the visitors as the side from Pretoria remained unbeaten at home this season.
On Saturday morning in Perth, the Lions fought very hard to win their final tour match, but ultimately came up short as they were beaten by 29-19 by the Force.
Round 15 came to an exciting end in Cape Town on Saturday evening when the DHL Stormers beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 33-0 in a rather one-sided match.
The Vodacom Bulls will have William Small-Smith available again for selection ahead of their Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. The 22-year old midfielder was ruled out of last week’s selection due to a stomach ailment.
Jono Ross was cleared of concussion and Jurgen Visser suffered a contusion in last Friday night’s win over the Brumbies, but is ready to play as well. They will sit out the field session on Monday and will train Tuesday, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed.
Bulls (23) 44 / 23 (6) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Vodacom Bulls and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, 03:10 Saturday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The lowest mark for a Super Rugby Finals Series qualifier over recent years has been 53, meaning that this season one can mathematically assume in 2014 at least 45 points gives a team a chance of playing knockout rugby.
Remember 8 less points are on offer in 2014 with nothing awarded for a bye.
The Melbourne Rebels are now out of calculations, for while a potentially brilliant perfect 25 from 25 points in their closing run covers the rudimentary maths, they would need to rely on a perfect maelstrom of losing chaos at the top of the table.
The Blues, although 1oth and in a precarious position on the Log, have 5 games left, but from hereon in it is crunch time for them. They almost need a flawless run from here and a loss to the Sharks, will certainly put them out of the running on the weekend.
For the Vodacom Bulls, it becomes doubly difficult now, they only have 4 games left, compared to 5 by most of the teams above them in the pecking order. One more loss, and you can write them off. They need a near perfect run in their 4 games, earning at least 17 Log points from 4 games, so that means at least one bonus point try win and the rest all wins.
Evaluation in reverse order:
Frans Ludeke
The Bulls won’t have revenge on their minds when they face the Brumbies in a Super Rugby clash at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.
The Brumbies broke the Bulls hearts when they beat the men from Pretoria 26-23 in last year’s semi-final at Loftus, with centre Tevita Kuridrani’s late try sealing the win for the men from Canberra.
While it would be important to have a look at what cost them in that game, coach Frans Ludeke said revenge would not be on their minds.
Flip van der Merwe
Regular Vodacom Bulls captain, Flip van der Merwe, is back at the helm of the team to face the Brumbies in a Vodacom Super Rugby match in Pretoria on Friday. Van der Merwe missed three matches due to suspension and is one of three changes to the side that beat the DHL Stormers two weeks ago.
Van der Merwe replaces Paul Willemse in the number four jumper while Werner Kruger rotates as tight-head prop with Marcel van der Merwe. Jacques-Louis Potgieter swops the bench and the number ten jersey with Handrè Pollard in the only change at the back.
Wimpie van der Walt makes way for Willemse on the bench. Ulrich Beyers also comes onto the bench in place of William Small-Smith, who is ill.
William Small-Smith will not train on Monday due to a stomach ailment, but both Piet van Zyl and Flip van der Merwe reported for training duty and will be considered for the Vodacom Bulls match against the Brumbies on Friday.
According to the Vodacom Bulls team doctor, Org Strauss, all of the squad are in good health and ready to take on the Australian conference leaders.
The Vodacom Bulls may well add Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane to their ranks as their next acquisition when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Nyakane, who became a Springbok last season but was dropped because of disciplinary issues, is known to be on the target list of the Bulls as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2015 season.