The Bulls appear to have pulled of a major coup, luring three Cheetahs Super Rugby starters to Pretoria ahead of next year’s Super Rugby competition.
Despite a youth program that sees roughly 60% of the cream of schoolboy rugby players head to Loftus each year, the Bulls have once again found their young crop wanting and have rather reached for the cheque book to bolster their faltering pack.
Cheetahs skipper Adriaan Strauss will come in to fill the void at hooker caused by the departure of Chilliboy Ralepelle. Despite having a capable youngster in the ranks in Bongi Mbonami – who has worked his way up through the system – the Bulls’ baffling decision to rather start the limited Callie Visagie seems to have poisoned that well. It’s understood that Strauss will assume the Bulls’ captaincy.
Another pair of players in whom the Bulls have invested much seem set to lose out, with Bok loosehead Trevor Nyakane understood to be joining Strauss in the move to Pretoria. Dean Greyling and Morne Mellett are stalwarts of the Bulls system, having come up through the ranks, but at least one now looks set to be discarded in favour of a player bought in from elsewhere.
Bok squad member Lappies Labuschagne is the third Cheetahs player heading to Loftus; strangely, though, his preferred position, blindside flank, is one in which the Bulls already have good young depth in the form of Arno Botha and Jacques du Plessis. With the Bulls’ most glaring problem this year cause by their lack of an openside flanker, it looks as though they’ve gone and bought the wrong thing.
Then again, it remains to be seen whether Frans Ludeke actually understands that there is such a thing as an opensider; his insistence on selecting Jonno Ross in the number 6 jersey would suggest not.
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Surely Matfield will captain the Bulls next year in Super Rugby?
Arno will switch to eighthman in place of Spies with Lappies on the blindside and Steggmann at openside. du Plessis will be used as a lock and as an alternate blindside when they rotate.
Interesting to see that Spies won’t be captain and that Flip will be replaced as captain.
@Bokhoring (Comment 1) : I think that he will be used sparingly in order to get him to the World Cup in one piece.
bear in mind that Spies is the guy losing out on the captaincy. Both Flip and Victor were only substitutes
and then they say the Sharks are all cheetahs…
At least our “cheetahs” came through the academy before making their debuts for the Sharks.
@ChrisS (Comment 3) : Yes – but when he plays he is the captain regardless of who is officially the “captain”.
@Bokhoring (Comment 6) : also true.
@Bokhoring (Comment 6) : 😆 Good point!
I wont be surprised if they change Lofus name to “Mat Field”
@ChrisS (Comment 3) : Let us hope not 😈
Looks like no new players heading to the Sharks? Must be our fucked up game that is chasing them away. It’s also know that it doesn’t matter how shit you are, as long as you play for the Bulls, Heyneke and Victor will automatically get a hard one for you.
Ze bools need to use the talent in their backline instead of just having them chase kicks all day… Bassoon scored tries for fun at the cheetahs…
What the hell is going on at the Cheetahs. Can it all be Drotske related?
The disconcerting thing here is that they are losing players to other local unions and not the big moneyed European and Japanese clubs. Toyota must surely be a good sponsor and Im sure the Cheetahs have mostly been good for the Toyota brand so I cant think that they are in a worse off financial situation than the Lions.
Cheetahs signed:
Coenie van Wyk – Pumas/Lions
Bees Roux – Lions
Clayton Blommetjies – Bulls
JP du Plessis – Montpellier
Willie du Plessis – Lions
And apparently are after
Willie Britz – Lions
Stokkies Hanekom – Lions
Not quite replacing like for like
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 13) : Or the Bulls just have a shit load of money to throw at them? I wonder who was really behind those moves?HM ? Lets not start conspiracies, lets just say the he realized the hooker he included in the Bok squad from the blue team was not good enough, so he made a plan. But then again, maybe not? Who would ever know, right?
@Baylion (Comment 14) : Hopefully we can hold on to Britz and Stokkies
Bongi should rather opt for the Cheetahs and not the Stormers as their is Tiaan and Scarra. Lets just wish Arno is coming to the Sharks and they are just replacing him with Lappies
@Chippa (Comment 17) : How I wish that. Arno Botha is a machine. Doubt he’ll leave the Bulls as it is now an automatic guarantee to the bok squad.
Arno Botha will play 8, du Plessis needs to move to lock, so Labascagne at 7 will be perfect
@Baylion (Comment 14) : Good buy getting JP du Plessis back – the Stormers never used him. He is a handy centre with a great step.
Stokkies Hanekom will be a good buy
@Saffex (Comment 20) : Not sure what the story is with JP. Played one game for the rebels and 6 minutes last year in November for Montpellier.
Stokkies is a good attacking player but weak on defence and his injuries have kept him off the field. At 25 he has only played 27 first class games
Wonder how the Bulls will pay for all the players, maybe they won the Lottery? !?!