Ken Borland

Loftus Versfeld has been a busy check-in, check out counter this week as Springbok flank Marcell Coetzee arrived for duty with the Bulls, on the same day that the departure of loose forward Tim Agaba, the former Springbok Sevens representative, was confirmed.

Coetzee has been a phenomenal performer for Ulster, when fit, over the last five years and was recently named the Pro14 Players’ Player of the Season. The 29-year-old is currently recovering from a hamstring injury but will certainly have his eye on a return to the Springbok loose trio for the series against the British and Irish Lions.

The fact that the owner of 30 Springbok caps is considered one of the star signings amongst a host of big names being lured to Loftus Versfeld was shown by the brand new Bulls bakkie that was waiting for Coetzee upon his arrival at his new home.

The 31-year-old Agaba will be playing in the black-and-yellow of the French Second Division side U.S. Carcassonne. He will join the South African contingent of locks – Claude Dry, Rynard ‘Ligtoring’ Landman and Christiaan van der Merwe – at the 122-year-old club that is languishing in the lower reaches of the Pro D2 division in France.

The Bulls got away with their ill-discipline at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night as they snuck through 34-29 against the Stormers in their preparation series match.

The Bulls would have wasted a 34-26 lead in the final minute were it not for Stormers eighthman Juarno Augustus dropping the ball when he was clear over the tryline. The try was close enough to the poles for the conversion – and a 36-34 win for the visitors – to be almost a formality.

It was their own ill-discipline in the first half which saw the Bulls trailing 7-20 after 34 minutes as the Stormers used a rash of penalties, and the problems the Bulls had throughout the night at scrum-time, to take control of the match through two tries by powerful wing Leolin Zas.

The Bulls did strike back before halftime when hooker Joe van Zyl scored from a rolling maul, and then an excellent second half saw them mount a trademark comeback.

Wing Marco Janse van Vuren forced his way through three tacklers to score, followed by lock Ruan Nortje dotting down after flank Marco van Staden surged off a lineout drive. The Bulls then earned a penalty try after a superb break by centre Cornal Hendricks, with Stormers centre Ruhan Nel yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-down which prevented the offload and an almost certain try being scored.

The Bulls were in control as the final minute approached, with replacement flyhalf Morne Steyn adding a penalty for a 34-26 lead, but their discipline then went walkabout again.

Nortje was yellow-carded for yet again going in on the side of a maul, Tim Swiel kicking a penalty to make it 29-34. The Bulls understandably went deep with the restart, but were a bit stand-offish in defence and at the rucks, and then conceded a couple of penalties to allow the Stormers to set a lineout five metres from their line.

Were it not for the calamitous error by Augustus, the Bulls would have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Bulls coach Jake White said before the match that he did not care too much about the result, but was more interested in his team honing certain aspects of their play.

The scrum certainly needs some work, they could do with more accuracy at lineout time and over-eagerness was often their worst enemy. The positive is that the Bulls managed to retain possession for long periods of the second half and with a bit more focus they would have won comfortably.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Richard Kriel, Joe van Zyl, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Ruan Nortje, penalty try. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalty: Morne Steyn.

Stormers – Tries: Leolin Zas (2). Conversions: Kade Wolhuter (2). Penalties: Wolhuter (3), Tim Swiel (2).

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.

Loftus Versfeld is a crucible refining some of the best young talent in South African rugby at the moment and David Kriel and Madosh Tambwe are two of the standout prospects.

They spoke on Wednesday about what they have enjoyed most about their time with the Bulls.

David Kriel

The 22-year-old fullback said he has especially enjoyed not being under pressure to produce dazzling rugby in a backline full of Sevens stars. Kriel has impressed with his mature, composed performances at fullback in his first full season of senior rugby.

“You have to trust the timing of your selection and I’ve just tried to be composed. A lot of youngsters feel they have to come in and take the spotlight, say ‘look at me now’. But I’ve been able to just do what I know I can do and what the team has needed. I’ve always been maybe a bit more composed since my school days, and now having a mentor like Gio Aplon here helps a lot.

“Coach Jake also knows his stuff and being as versatile as possible is a big advantage. It’s going to be an entirely different experience in Europe and we don’t know how the rugby will compare. But we trust management and we feel ready for what is coming. Conditions will play a big role and we will just stay with what we have established this year,” Kriel said.

Madosh Tambwe

The 23-year-old wing joined the Bulls a month ago, having spent three years at the Lions and then 2020 at the Sharks. His arrival in Pretoria has seen him reunited with Joey Mongalo, his Lions mentor who is now the Bulls’ defence coach. But the Kinshasa-born Parktown product is clearly not at Loftus for a holiday.

“To work with coaches like Jake White and Chris Rossouw is really tremendous and Joey Mongalo again. I met Joey when I was U15 and he was the head coach of the Lions Invitational team, Hacjivah Dayimani played too and I managed to get a scholarship to Parktown. Joey was the one who said to me I should see how far I can go and by Lions U19 I had already decided to make rugby my career.

“I had personal reasons for coming up here from the Sharks, but rugby-wise it also made a lot of sense. It’s something to cherish, not everyone gets to work with the sort of talent that is here and I just try to put my hand up and contribute to the team. I just want to find my feet here and be a regular starter, I know what it takes. I’m just trying to be professional and a great team guy,” Tambwe said.