Ken Borland

by Guest Correspondent

It seems strange to believe that the powerful 1.86m, 90kg winger Madosh Tambwe, who once scored a Vodacom Super Rugby record-equalling four tries in one match, was completely surprised when he received a phone call from Bulls coach Jake White, inviting him to join the Pretoria team.

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“Receiving a phone call from Jake was quite a surprise. I never expected a call from him, and then I also wondered how he’d even got my number,” Tambwe says with a laugh.

The reality is that Tambwe’s life has been full of surprises up to this point of joining one of world rugby’s most celebrated teams.

The 23-year-old forms part of Vodacom’s current focus on the growing crop of ‘Future Champs’ within the Bulls fold.

Born in Kinshasha during the transition of the country from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tambwe moved to South Africa with his family and was raised in Johannesburg. In his final years as a student at Parktown Boys’ High and while playing for the Lions U19 team, Tambwe was confronted for the first time by somebody who gave him a dream to aim for.

The Lions U19 coach, Joey Mongalo (who has since also joined the Vodacom Bulls’ senior coaching staff), asked him what he planned to do with his life. It was the spark that put him on his journey to a career as a professional rugby player, and which has seen him play for the Lions, Sharks and now the Vodacom Bulls before the age of 23.

“Being asked what you want to do with your life is a very tricky question because everybody is on a different journey in their lives. But now I’ve been blessed to have played for three great South African franchises. Right now, I’m focused on settling in at the Vodacom Bulls and focusing on my rugby. That’s where my mind is at the moment,” he says.

Tambwe identified himself as a clear ‘Future Champ’ when he equalled the record of four Vodacom Super Rugby tries which he scored in a 2018 match for the Lions against the Stormers. It is this early success in the game that he wants to keep building on as he now pulls on the famed blue jersey of the Bulls.

“I’m privileged to play for the Vodacom Bulls. As I’ve approached everything in my life, I’ll embrace the moment and take it one step at a time and not think too far ahead.”

Tambwe admits he’s already being challenged to grow at the Vodacom Bulls and is relishing this new environment.

“The coaching staff is challenging me quite a bit. Coach Jake wants me to stretch my wings a bit in terms of my positions, and he’s asked me to study fullback as well so I can act as cover for the team in this position. That’s a challenge, and I like that. I’m kept on my toes here, and I’m not being allowed to get too comfortable in just one position.”

And as much as he feels privileged to pull on a Vodacom Bulls jersey, Tambwe is also adamant that he isn’t thinking too far into the future in terms of what it means to play for a union that has produced some of the greatest players in the history of the game.

“It will always be a great responsibility when you put on that Bulls jersey. There’s such a rich history here. But first and foremost, I want to earn my stripes at this union. Only then can I start thinking about the future. Sure, in the back of my mind there is the thought that I want to carry on where some of the greats have left off and I want to also leave something for the next generation of Vodacom Bulls players to build on. But for now, I just want to be the best I can and focus on the next game in front of me.”

His focus matches the entire ethos about what it means to be identified as a Vodacom Future Champ and represent the future of the Bulls.

“I’ve got a great hunger to learn and be better, and I strive to be the best I can be. I’m doing what I love, and every weekend I am able to showcase my talent for people to enjoy. I want to keep getting better so I can add to the proud legacy of this team,” Tambwe says.

Tighthead props have always been the pearl in the crown as far as Bulls coach Jake White is concerned when it comes to picking his teams, but unfortunately the World Cup-winning coach is going to have to do without his first-choice No.3, Springbok star Trevor Nyakane, for their opening Rainbow Cup match against the Lions on Saturday.

According to the injury report released on Monday evening by team doctor Herman Rossouw, Nyakane has a rib injury and “will in all likelihood miss the first game but should not be out for too long”. Rossouw described it as a “new injury”, so Nyakane must have picked it up in training.

Springbok Marcel van der Merwe has been released to play for La Rochelle in France as a medical joker, so Nyakane’s replacement is likely to be 23-year-old Mornay Smith, who is considered a highly promising young tighthead.

Regular captain Duane Vermeulen has received much well-deserved adulation for his role in reviving the Bulls but the Springbok hero also won’t be available on Saturday, although he has begun light training after knee surgery, along with outside backs Gio Aplon and Travis Ismaiel.

Wing Stravino Jacobs, another rising star, is also back in training, while lock Walt Steenkamp as fully recovered from the heart problems he had after contracting Covid and has been given the green light to start training again. Fans will also be happy to see exciting loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima is back on the field again after tearing his achilles tendon eight months ago.

As they prepare to wade their way into turbulent European waters, Bulls coach Jake White said the heavy defeat his team suffered at the hands of the Sharks in Durban this weekend was a valuable “learning curve” for his youngsters.

The second-string Bulls emerged from their Kings Park clash like up-country visitors battered by the Ballito breakers as they were on the wrong end of a 45-12 scoreline.

“After 25 minutes we were 31-5 down but we did not let them score again until the 74^th minute when we only had 13 men on the field. It’s never nice to be on the wrong end of that sort of result but there was fighting sprit and we can build on that. The Sharks played really well and they created some really good tries with their catch-and-pass style. But it was almost their exact team from the Currie Cup final.

“We were a bit inexperienced and it was difficult weather. But if we’re not winning then we’re learning and I’m very chuffed with the way we came back, you’ve got to be proud of the effort and commitment. It could have been a 70-pointer, but we’ll take it as being all part of the learning curve for these guys. Overall I’m very happy with the preparation series,” White said.

So impressive was the Sharks’ handling in the sodden conditions of a Kings Park swamp in those opening stages that it seemed some voodoo must have been involved.

“I thought it was an outstanding first half-hour and then unfortunately things went a little awry. But they were very difficult conditions – humid and wet – and the guys were very brave with ball in hand. We wanted to play quickly, we moved the ball around and the skill level was very high. Our plan was to up the pace as much as we could.

“There’s a certain style of rugby we want to play and we counter-attacked really well. We did not play much in our own half, but it’s not all about kicking, it’s about getting the balance right and from turnover ball you have about a 10-second window to move the ball and we managed to move it so quickly. Our set-piece also did really well at the start,” a pleased Sharks coach Sean Everitt said.

With Bulls coach Jake White believing the start of the Rainbow Cup is imminent, many of the youngsters he has fielded thus far in the preparation series have given up their rentals spots in the team as the Currie Cup champions get ready to face the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Springboks Trevor Nyakane, Marco van Staden, Cornal Hendricks and Morne Steyn all return to action, while regulars such as Ruan Nortje, Stedman Gans and Jacques van Rooyen have also been named in the 26-man squad as White starts to get his first-choice team up-and-running again ahead of European competition.

The Rainbow Cup is scheduled to run from April 17 to June 19 and will feature the Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions playing in two pools of eight with Europe’s Pro12 teams. The regular Pro14 season is coming to an end with Leinster playing Munster in the final on March 27.

“If we work backwards from the British Lions tour and the Pro14 is now at the back end, then one month from now we will probably see the start of the Rainbow Cup. I think the Rainbow Cup is imminent and hopefully it all comes together for us in a month and, barring guys like Gio Aplon and Travis Ismaiel who have long-term injuries, we should have 90% of our squad fully match-fit.

“I want to see some of our youngsters with the stronger guys around them and a lot of thought has gone into the combinations. For instance, if we lose our Springboks then I need to know what our front row will look like. I’m happy with where we are, we have the best of both worlds with about 25 guys training with the conditioning staff and the youngsters playing every week,” White said on Thursday.

Friday’s match will also see Zak Burger get his first run-out with the Bulls and White said he had given the attacking former Griquas scrumhalf the same licence as a teenager at the sales with a gold card.

“I’m quite excited about seeing Zak. Whenever you play an opposition, you look at their threats and there’s no doubt whenever anyone played Griquas everybody was watching him. I’ve given him free rein, I expect him to make an impact because he’s very quick and he has a very good rugby brain. I’ve told him to have a go, be good at what’s he’s good at and not worry,” White said.

Bulls: Richard Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Chris Smith, Zak Burger, Nizaam Carr (c), Werner Gouws, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Trevor Nyakane, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jacques van Rooyen, Jan Uys, Tim Agaba, Keagan Johannes, Morné Steyn, Diego Appollis, Nolan Pienaar, Raynard Roets, Marnus Potgieter.