Rugby World UK – August 2019

South Africa

New audience

Young fans in Japan

Boks ground out some important

wins and regained some respect.

This year has seen Vermeulen embark

on a similar mission at the Bulls. The

team attempted to marry the traditional

physical and kicking strengths of the

franchise – which haven’t been evident

in recent campaigns – with a stronger

attacking approach. It paid off with the

Bulls making the Super Rugby play-offs

for the first time since 2013, albeit that

they then lost to the Hurricanes.

“It’s a roller-coaster ride. We win, then

we lose, then we win again. It’s difficult

to build any rhythm and confidence on

the back of those results. Ultimately,

we need to take a look at ourselves

and ask why we lost some games we

really should have won. Perhaps it’s

immaturity. In any case, we need to

work towards addressing the issues.”

Much was made about the former

Stormers and Western Province player

joining the Cape Town franchise’s

arch rivals. The media hyped up

Vermeulen’s return to Newlands before

the north-south derby in April. There

were even a few boos when the No 8

emerged from the tunnel on game day.

Yet while he learnt a great deal during

his time with the Stormers, Vermeulen

doesn’t regret his decision to move to

the Bulls. “The culture at the Bulls is

very different to what I experienced at

the Stormers. I feel like it’s a better fit for

me. The team sticks together, on and off

the pitch. We do a lot of things together

outside rugby. I enjoyed my time in

Cape Town, but the reality is there are

a lot of distractions down there and

everybody tends to do their own thing

when they’re not focusing on rugby.”

Vermeulen has also taken it upon

himself to get the crowds back to Loftus

Versfeld and rekindle the passion for

rugby in the region. Only 7,458 fans

watched the Bulls beat the Waratahs in

round 12 of Super Rugby. That number

swelled to 23,366 when the Crusaders

came to Pretoria, thanks in large to

Vermeulen’s call to action.

“Players want to see supporters in

the stands, and I’m no different. The

NUMBERS

GAME

Key figures from the

2018 Rugby Championship

DANE HAYLETT-PETTY

397

Metres carried

PIETER-STEPH

DU TOIT

83

Tackles made

EMILIANO

BOFFELLI

71

Carries made

BEN SMITH

15

Clean breaks made

BEAUDEN BARRETT

APHIWE DYANTYI

RIEKO IOANE

5

Tries scored

Raging Bull

The No 8 stresses Hurricanes

in the Super Rugby quarter-final

Prop star

Lizo Gqoboka

PICS

Getty Images

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