Being lead this year by Deon Stegmann, who debuted in 2007 and has 54 matches under his belt, the Bulls have brought in a man who brings plenty of experience to this leading role.
With coach Frans Ludeke wanting to break the five year drought currently plaguing the Bulls and hoping to improve on the below average 5th position from last year, he has made the very important decision to bring in new players to help push his team over the edge.
21-year old Burger Odendaal, who had a very successful Varsity Cup last year, has impressed Ludeke to warrant a starting centre position which will add some youthful talent to the team.
2014 Bulls Currie Cup Season
The Bulls, as it seems all the Currie Cup teams this year, will look to the youngsters of their team with Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Baby Boks star Jesse Kriel hoping to impress on a national level.
The Bulls will be learning from one big mistake they made last year regarding the balance of youth vs. experience. The Currie Cup is a competition for the younger stars within the South African rugby institution, to shine but one can’t fault the valuable asset of experience to any and every team.
Saying this, the Bulls have been hit by eight injuries. Two are short term injuries with Jesse Kriel and JJ Engelbrecht sitting out for roughly a week each. But six injuries are classified as ‘long term’ which each player said to be out for over a month, even up to four months. Tiaan Schoeman, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Jaco Visagie, Flip van der Merwe and Bjorn Basson will all be missing out for the majority of the tournament. Frik Kirsten has announced his retirement from rugby due to a neck injury.
It will be a tough year for the Bulls. Injuries and a mental block to overcome will play against them but there should be no reason for Ludeke and his men to get their game together and make a viable contest for the title this year.
Blue Bulls Team:
Dean Greyling, Frik Kirsten, Werner Kruger, Morne Mellett, Juan Schoeman, Basil Short, Marcel van der Merwe, Hencus van Wyk, Bandise Maku, Bongi Mbonambi, Callie Visagie, Jaco Visagie, Grant Hattingh, Irne Hebst, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Victor Matfield, Marvin Orie, Flip van der Merwe, Paul Willemse, Arno Both, Jacques du Plessis, Jacques Engelbrecht, Wiaan Liebenberg, Jono Ross, Roelof Smit, Pierre Spies, Deon Stegmann (c), Nardus van der Walt, Francois Hougaard, Lohan Jacobs, Rudy Paige, Piet van Zyl, Tony Jantjies, Handre Pollard, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Tian Schoeman, Ulrcih Beyers, JJ Engelbrecht, Burger Odendaal, Jan Serfontein, William Small-Smith, Dries Swanepoel, Bjorn Basson, Travis Ismaiel, Sampie Mastriet, Akona Ndungane, Ryan Nell, Jamba Ulengo, Jesse Kriel, Jurgen Visser
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