If you live in Pretoria you’d better look for your name on this list below. It seems like the Bulls have named everyone that resides in the greater Tshwane district in their wider training group for SupeRugby 2013. The group including back office personnel is so big that there is even a space for Currie Cup struggler Pine Pienaar on the coaching staff. Talking about struggling, Victor Matfield did not exactly pave himself in glory as a spontaneous on the spot sideline analyst for satelite TV this year. Vic was a great rugby player though and might have a lot more to contribute as an attack and forwards coach on the Bulls staff. Derick Hougaard is the new something something kicking coach. The actual job title is “skills and kicking” coach but it doesn’t make that much sense suggesting Derick will be teaching skills and multitasking, so something something kicking coach seems easier to believe.
Anyway truthfully the Bulls run a tight ship. They have a world class development facility for their junior players. The point of this blog is to bring attention to the fact that five of their signed and very talented schoolboy rugby players, namely Handre Pollard, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Corne Cooper, Jesse and Daniel Kriel are also in the 59-man Bulls training group. Four of the five youngsters are from out of town. Their inclusion is part of the big picture investment for the union. The brains trust behind the Bulls operation obviously realise that the quicker they can get these boys in, help them settle and make them feel like important members of the Loftus family, the quicker they will start seeing the investment paying off in the form of good results by these players on and off the field.
The Bulls wider group:
(*Springbok)
| # | Name | Surname | Level | 2012 Team | Import from |
| 1 | Daniel | Kriel | SBR | Maritzburg College | – |
| 2 | Jesse | Kriel | SBR | MaritzburgC/KZNu18/SAu18 | |
| 3 | Corne | Cooper | SBR | Paarl Gym/WPu18 | |
| 4 | Handrè | Pollard | SBR | Paarl Gym/SAu18/SAu20 | |
| 5 | Rohan | Jv Rensburg | SBR | Waterkloof/SAu18 | |
| 6 | Bjorn | Basson* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | Griquas |
| 7 | JJ | Engelbrecht* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | WP |
| 8 | Dean | Greyling* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 9 | Francois | Hougaard* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 10 | Zane | Kirchner* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | Griquas |
| 11 | Juandrè | Kruger* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | WP/Saints |
| 12 | Werner | Kruger* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 13 | Akona | Ndungane* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 14 | Wynand | Olivier* | Pro | Ricoh Black Rams/Boks | |
| 15 | Dewald | Potgieter* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 16 | Jacques | Potgieter* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | Kings |
| 17 | Chiliboy | Ralepelle* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 18 | Pierre | Spies* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 19 | Deon | Stegmann* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 20 | Mornè | Steyn* | Pro | Bulls/Boks | |
| 21 | Jano | Vermaak* | Pro | Bulls | Lions |
| 22 | Clayton | Blommetjies | Pro | Bulls | |
| 23 | Louis | Fouchè | Pro | Bulls | Leopards |
| 24 | Grant | Hattingh | Pro | Bulls | Lions/WP u21 |
| 25 | Cornell | Hess | Pro | Bulls | |
| 26 | Frik | Kirsten | Pro | Bulls | |
| 27 | Sampie | Mastriet | Pro | Bulls | |
| 28 | Mornè | Mellett | Pro | Bulls | |
| 29 | Rudy | Paige | Pro | Bulls | Lions u21 |
| 30 | Basil | Short | Pro | Bulls | |
| 31 | Ruan | Snyman | Pro | Bulls | |
| 32 | Wilhelm | Steenkamp | Pro | Bulls | |
| 33 | Dawie | Steyn | Pro | Bulls | Pumas |
| 34 | Flip | vd Merwe | Pro | Bulls | Free State |
| 35 | Jürgen | Visser | Pro | Bulls | WP u21 |
| 36 | Willie | Wepener | Pro | Bulls | Lions/Clermont |
| 37 | Shaun | Adendorff | u21 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 38 | Ulrich | Beyers | u21 | Bulls u21/Bulls | WP u19 |
| 39 | Arno | Botha* | u21 | Bulls u21/Bulls | |
| 40 | Jean | Cook | u21 | Bulls u21/Bulls | |
| 41 | Travis | Ismaiel | u21 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 42 | Lohan | Jacobs | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 43 | Tony | Jantjies | u21 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 44 | Wiaan | Liebenberg | u21 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 45 | Marvin | Orie | u19 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 46 | Juan | Schoeman | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 47 | Tiaan | Schoeman | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 48 | William | Small-Smith | u21 | Bulls u21/SAu20 | |
| 49 | Hencus | van Wyk | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 50 | Schalk | van Heerden | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 51 | Francois | Venter | Pro | Bulls u21/Bulls | |
| 52 | Mike | Williams | u21 | Bulls u21 | |
| 53 | Bongi | Mbonambi | Pro | Bulls u21/Bulls | |
| 54 | Jacques | du Plessis | u19 | Bulls u19 | |
| 55 | Jan | Serfontein | u19 | Bullsu19&u21/Bulls/SAu20 | |
| 56 | Marcel | vd Merwe | Pro | Free State | Free State |
| 57 | Lionel | Mapoe* | Pro | Lions | Lions |
| 58 | Callie | Visagie | Pro | Lions | Lions |
| 59 | Paul | Willemse | Pro | Lions u21/Lions | Lions u21 |
@Ploegskaar: Engels asb boys. Wonder wat is n bokslagter in engels……a buckbutcher?
Tjorts
@Andre T: En dan noem jy my ‘n bokslagter?
@Andre T: Vir die Kersseisoen- afgespreek. Maggies, Monnas het darem n bulspan gehad vanjaar! Nee, wraggies, dit klink darem TE kunsmatig!
@BOG: Kom ons wees maatjies?
@Ploegskaar: I did all of them and more and excelled in the lot. But, I gave it all up. Occasionally, a curse word slips out by accident. The only time I curse deliberately, is when I address AT.
@Ploegskaar: Het darem afgekoel met die nikotien, van Camel Plain na Camel Filters. Probeer ook om minder te rook. Dokter het aanbeveel ek moet net rook as ek aan n kaal vrou dink……af na 2 pakkies n dag.
@Andre T: Daaroor had ek geen twyfel.
@Ploegskaar: Ou Ploeg, ek rate myself nogal in al 3 kriteria.
@BOG: Although I in no way condone excessive drinking, smoking or swearing, I tend to distrust and seldom get along with people that do not at least do one of the above. I hope that you are a chainsmoker with turrets and the same would go for some of the sanctimonious mofo’s that frequent this site.
@Andre T: Sorry, I do not understand you. Is that a West Rand English dialect?
@Ploegskaar: @BOG: Nee boys, asb, ek is nie n ou wat sommer voor 9 in die oggend suip nie maar julle maak my dors.
@Ploegskaar: I have not drank alcohol for about 13 yrs. I will pass out only by smelling a beer. We used to buy a blended wine which was sold by KWV which was destined for Canada, but they then introduced sanctions. It was called Bonne Esperance, in one litre bottles- red, stein, dry white and Rose. The red was a very nice drinking wine because SA red wines are quite heavy. It conveniently came with a screw on top, not that a bottle was never finished. Yes, the days when a case of Castle, delivered wasR26. All this was of course tax free, which goes to show what you pay in customs and excise. And because this is a rugby blog, I need to add that I drank it while watching rugby.
@BOG: You will have to forward me an address so that I can send you a bin selection from the best wine region in the WC, D’ville. You fancy red/white, cab/shiraz/merlot or SB/CD, or do you like blends?
@Andre T: Who says that I am not already in Afghanistan? I have just had a look at Makros liquor specials! How you blokes can drink, smoke, play golf, fornicate and support 3 families, I dont know. Red Heart-R120, KWV 5 yr- R95, diluted Vodka- R55. When I stopped drinking yrs ago, I paid R55 for Kwv 3yr, R42 for KWV Vodka and Gin, R55 for Roodeberg. Laborie was my favourite but I refused to pay that price-R85. And this was delivered in a foreign country and the prices I gave you, are PER CASE!! We used to say: The more we drank, the more we saved!
@BOG: You know I hate to agree with you but on this one I have no choice. If you were a player or a coach, I’d like you to go to either Afghanistan or Guatamala.
@Muzi: Why do you sound so much like BM? Your twin brother perhaps? Pine Pienaar is a good coach- but you need to look at the structures and the players as well. If I was a player or coach, I would not go near the BBs.
@Muzi: I was very disappointed by the Bulls u19’s one dimensional backline play in the 2 games of theirs that I watched. The wings basically did not touch the ball. This despite many good frontfoot ball platforms being laid by a good pack of Bulls u19 forwards. The forwards did too much of the ground gaining workload. IMHO Paul Anthony did not maximise on the talent he had at his disposal this year. Yes the team made the final but they should really have been 10-15 points ahead of the next best team based on talent alone. But then again good individuals do not necessarily make a good team. The coach failed to get his team to gel and work together as a complete 15-man unit. Everyone says Anthony is a good coach, I think he needs freshen up some of his techniques.
@beet: yes i had faith in Pine but he failed like Paul Anthony he has a long way to go.
That is your humble opinion of Pine Pienaar now? At the start of the season you were very optimistic about him being CC coach.
This is frustrating young Dries Swanepoel needs to toughen up he should have made this wider training group.
Sjoe Bulls supporters are ranting and raving about Pine Pienaar being the new defensive
coach dear me i hope Frans Ludeke knows what he’s doing.
I wouldn’t want to play against Nollis Marais vodacom cup team sjoe he’s going to have a powerful side.
Frans Ludeke has a great squad to work with.It’s a good balance between youth and experience i hope we can give some of the junior players a chance.