Ken Borland

While the Bulls know they will receive a typically fiery reception when their aircraft touches down in Cape Town, their talismanic captain Duane Vermeulen is apparently in a particularly combative mood ahead of their crunch Currie Cup opener against Western Province at Newlands on Saturday.

The Springbok colossus, man of the match in the 2019 World Cup final, played in the blue-and-white hoops from 2009 to 2015 but was strangely not wanted by the Stormers when he returned to South Africa in late 2018. Without suggesting Vermeulen has his mind on revenge, he takes immense pride in his performances and he will want to show his former team and his many Springbok colleagues playing for Western Province that he is still a major force. As if his considerable performances so far this season have not already proven that.

“I think Duane feels the best he has for a long time, he seems to have had added energy this week, he knows Newlands and the Western Province players well and it’s the most fired-up I’ve seen him for a long time. His family is still down in Cape Town, his kids are at school there, he lives in the hotel at Loftus and isn’t commuting. So it can’t be easy for him.

“But he’s played 80 minutes after 80 minutes, and he gives you the full 80 minutes every time. So there are no questions around his commitment and the team sees just how committed he is. Duane has been waiting a long time for this game, there are quite a few Springboks in the Western Province team and he really wants to play well against them,” Bulls coach Jake White said on Thursday.

White, for all his baiting and chirping of the Bulls’ greatest rivals, knows that Western Province will also be fully primed for action on Saturday, especially after they were hammered 39-6 in 64 minutes at Loftus Versfeld at the end of last month. There will be no monkeying about from the home side on Saturday.

“Western Province have had two weeks to prepare for this game and they are a very strong side, a fantastic side with settled coaches. Their World Cup winning captain [Siya Kolisi] is back and they have consistently been a form team in South African rugby. Plus they have an incredible record against the Bulls – we haven’t won there since 2009 – so there’s no doubt they’re going to be up for it.

“We beat them convincingly up here and there’s no doubt that will drive them. They’re playing at home, it could be the last time they play the Bulls at Newlands with all its history and memories, so they will have all the energy they need. We are going to need to be as good as we’ve been all year in our best games to give ourselves the best opportunity of winning,” White said from Pretoria.

Johan Grobbelaar returns to the Bulls pack and will start at hooker in the only change to their starting line-up announced on Thursday.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Chris Smith, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (c), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Corniel Els, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marcel van der Merwe, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Clinton Swart, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

JJ van der Mescht’s move to blindside flank was the chief talking point of the Sharks team announcement on Wednesday for their match against the Pumas in Durban on Friday night, with the Sharks also going into battle with a retreaded hooker at openside flank in Dylan Richardson.

What coach Sean Everitt described as an “experiment” has largely been forced on the Sharks though due to the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak in the squad, with both Phendulani Buthelezi and Henco Venter unavailable. Some good news though is that Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe is now out of quarantine and will return to action from the bench, with hardman Thembelani Bholi the starting eighthman.

“We’ve had a few problems the last couple of weeks and we’ve had to tweak our pack, giving us an opportunity to look at JJ on the side of the scrum. He has a good skill set and enough pace to fulfil the blindside role. It’s an experiment and we still look at JJ as a lock, but he’s certainly an option at seven. Next year playing in the Pro16, games are going to be a lot tighter and we’ll need to rely more on our set-piece and mauls, so if it works well on Friday night then great.

“Dylan has done well for us, his general all-round play has been outstanding. We still see him long-term as a hooker, but he is comfortable on the side of the scrum as well and he gets the chance to gain more experience there now at senior level. We’re fortunate to have three very good hookers and Dan Jooste has only made two starts but he rotates now with Kerron van Vuuren,” Everitt said on Wednesday.

While some critics have sought to disparage the Sharks’ efforts at the scrums and breakdowns – two areas of strength for the Pumas – the return of Thomas du Toit at tighthead should make a big difference to the set-piece and Everitt said the Sharks are always going to turn over some ball because of the expansive way in which they play.

“It’s really good to have Thomas back, we have struggled in the set-pieces when he’s not there, so it’s good to have a Springbok back. We’re looking to improve our set-piece and the breakdown, our focus is on that. But if you look at where we give away penalties or turn over the ball, it’s all over the field. And that’s the way it’s going to be if you play ball-in-hand rugby. When we do lose possession, it’s all about how quickly we react to the player who has turned it over,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Yaw Penxe, Jeremy Ward (c), Marius Louw, Madosh Tambwe, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Thembelani Bholi, JJ van der Mescht, Dylan Richardson, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nche. REPLACEMENTS – Daniel Jooste, Khwezi Mona, Hanro Jacobs, Zain Davids, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Cameron Wright, Werner Kok, Sbu Nkosi.

Super Rugby Unlocked champions the Bulls will know from the moment they land at Cape Town International Airport that they are the target of a take down by Western Province in their Currie Cup derby at Newlands on Saturday, but inside centre Cornal Hendricks says it’s important that they don’t get too caught up in all the emotion.

While Western Province are never happy to see the Bulls win a competition they played in as well, there is added emotion in Saturday’s match because, depending on how the playoffs pan out, it could be the last time the great North versus South derby that has defined so much of South African rugby is played at the grandest old stadium of them all.

“We’re expecting a lot of emotion from them because we know what Newlands means to them. They are going to be physical and they are a good team on top of that. But sometimes you can be too emotional and you forget what you want to achieve. We need to control it, I know it’s hard sometimes to control your emotions, but we need to put them aside and see the clearer picture. We need to go into the game clear-headed, cool, calm and collected,” Hendricks said.

The former Springbok wing has been a surprise package at inside centre for the Bulls, proving an industrious supplier for his fellow backs and a sturdy rock in defence. Hendricks paid tribute to coach Jake White, who is obviously a top-class talent-spotter as well as a brilliant coach, for initiating the move.

“Jake White is obviously a world-class coach and backline coach Chris Rossouw deserves credit too for backing me at 12. I still have a lot to learn playing at inside centre and I’m trying to improve in small areas every week. But I’m pleased with where Stedman Gans and myself are at as a combination. I do the dirty work and he scores the tries!,” Hendricks laughed.

“I have a good relationship with Stedman, he was a world-class Sevens player and now he’s made his mark in XVs, which is great because you don’t want to be branded as just one type of player. We have good chemistry – a bromance – and we are learning together every day, but things are going well. Guys like Kurt-Lee Arendse, David Kriel and Travis Ismaiel are also playing very good rugby,” Hendricks said.

Curwin Bosch has been an ever-present at flyhalf in the Sharks team this year and has also performed with impressive consistency, but the Springbok said on Tuesday that he has been helped by the solid form of scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba alongside him, and also Marius Louw outside him in the No.12 jersey.

Nohamba, aged just 21, has now cemented himself as the Sharks number one scrumhalf, while Louw has had the tough task of replacing Springbok juggernaut Andre Esterhuizen and has made the inside centre berth his own.

“Sanele and I have a very good understanding. He’s grown a lot as a player and has taken on a lot of responsibility for a relatively young guy. He has stepped up really well,” Bosch said. “Marius Louw is also going very well at No.12. He’s been in the Sharks system for a while and is a terrific rugby player. He had big boots to fill with Andre leaving, but he has done very well.

“The backline as a whole is doing its job. Our game-plan is simple but very effective, and even though we haven’t hit our straps yet, we know if we perform well then the results will come our way. It’s important that we stick to our structures and if we do that, then I’m sure we can beat any team. Personally, I’m in a very good space and I’m doing my basics well,” the 23-year-old Bosch said.

The Sharks host the Pumas in the opening round of the Currie Cup at Kings Park on Friday night and Bosch says they will need to attack their opposition from the start to ensure they exert dominance over them.

“The Pumas have shown, especially in that second half last weekend against the Bulls, that it’s really important to start well against them and assert yourself otherwise you’re to going to make it a very long day for yourselves. You have to make sure you hit them hard in the first 40 minutes and then at a later stage you’ve made it comfortable for yourselves,” Bosch said.

As the flyhalf, Bosch will be the key to directing that attack and he is full of confidence at the moment.

“I’m really enjoying the extended run at No.10, I like the pressure and responsibility that comes with it. It’s great to know I have the confidence of the coaches and I have found a process now and stuck to it. In terms of goalkicking, I’m practising less but being more focused on quality. It feels a bit unfair for me to win the man of the match awards for just doing my job. The forwards work really hard to win those penalties and I just kick them over,” Bosch added.