The Vodacom Bulls XV travel to the University of Johannesburg this Saturday to face the Lions still searching for their first win of the Carling Currie Cup campaign, with head coach Phiwe Nomlomo confirming a growing injury list that now stretches close to 20 players.
Nomlomo’s side sit 0-2 after defeats to Boland and Griquas, and the losses have come at a cost. Speaking to media on Tuesday, the coach confirmed that hooker Shaun Schuurmann and centre PA van Niekerk will both miss the remainder of the season, both with severe knee injuries, while club captain Nama Xaba’s campaign is also over (broken finger).
“We saw Shaun leave the field pretty early. That’s his season pretty done for us,” Nomlomo said. ‘We also saw PA leave in the first half. Unfortunately, that’s also his season over.”
He added that the captain’s absence was a particular blow. Experienced Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg will captain the team in his absence.
New captain Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg.
JJ Theron and Neil Le Roux have also been ruled out, while the fitness of Devon Williams remains uncertain heading into the weekend.
Nomlomo pointed to the demands of running three squads simultaneously as a key factor behind the mounting casualty list, with players shared between the Currie Cup side, a group preparing for a fixture against the All Blacks in two weeks, and an under-20 team that kicks off its own season this weekend.
“We’re servicing three teams at the moment,” he said. “So it’s all hands on deck, and we’re giving it our best shot in terms of trying to make sure that all teams are as competitive as possible. Our depth is really tested.”
Asked whether the Vodacom Bulls XV would follow other franchises in calling up under-20 players to bolster the senior squad, as the Pumas have done, Nomlomo confirmed reinforcements were on the way. “Everyone who was part of that world championship under-20 winning side comes back to us, bar maybe a guy like Luan [Giliomee], and will be part of the 23.”
The Vodacom Bulls will renew a long-standing rivalry with the Lions, having beaten them in the final of the under-23 competition earlier this year, but Nomlomo dismissed any notion that history would carry into Saturday’s derby.
“Please don’t remind them that they lost in the final,” he quipped. “This team won, that team lost. This is the Currie Cup. Different campaign altogether. I think it comes with different challenges.”
Nomlomo also pushed back on the suggestion that the under-23 title should have translated into a stronger start to the Currie Cup, pointing instead to the depth advantage enjoyed by sides that progressed through the SA Cup.
“A team like the Griquas haven’t stopped playing. Their depth is massive,” he said. “They played in the SA Cup, then they went and played in the Toyota Challenge where they didn’t lose one guy in the starting 15, so they were able to rotate quite nicely. It’s not just a Vodacom Bulls thing. I think other unions are feeling the same pain.”
With two defeats on the board, Nomlomo was asked whether the Vodacom Bulls’ broader mandate of developing young talent risked being sidelined in the push for results. He insisted the two goals were not in conflict.
“It’s at the forefront with everything that we do,” he said. “We want to develop players while winning. That’s the best place where you want the player to be. However, you don’t want those guys to also get used to losing, because that also can become a habit.”
Nomlomo said the week’s preparation had focused on correcting the profligacy that cost the team against Griquas.
“I thought we were naive at times in how we put ourselves in good places. We didn’t finish,” he said. “The biggest thing that we’re focusing on this week is just ourselves. The Lions will obviously bring a strong side, and they also want to get their season going.”
