It’s the hunting season and the targets are the young bucks of South African rugby. It is an intense time for talent scouts and likely to grow more intense.
rugby365
The cheque books are out. In fact they have been out since the Grant Khomo Week. Top of the shopping list, it seems, of current schools players was Handré Pollard, the star of South Africa’s Under-20 victory in the Junior World Championships.
He was/wasn’t signing for the Blue Bulls and in the end the truth was allowed to come out that he was going to the Blue Bulls, the big buyers. Then he captained the Western Province team against the Blue Bulls in the opening round of Craven Week, had an awful game and withdrew from Craven Week because of an injury.
There are other movements mooted.
While Pollard is going north, two Blue Bulls players are heading south. Eighthman Steve Meiring and flyhalf Ryno Eksteen are heading for Western Province. Pieter Jordaan, the Free State flyhalf and centre, is also heading for Western Province.
Corné Cooper, the burly Western Province flank, is heading for Pretoria and so are three Academy Week players – Arno van Wyk, Justin Basson and Leighton van Wyk. Others heading to the Blue Bulls are South Western Districts pop Piet-Louw Strauss, rugged Golden Lions flank Chris Massyn, Boland prop Wilco Louw, Puma scrumhalf Kobus Wolmarans, Free State hooker Corniel Els and KwaZulu-Natal flank Carel Swart.
Then there are the Queen’s College pair who were declared ineligible to play for Border this year because they had signed for the Blue Bulls – flyhalf Josh Stander and scrumhalf JP Smith who were at the 2011 Craven Week.
Two other captains are switching unions. Despite the Eastern Province recruiting campaign, their captain Aidon Davis (Daniël Pienaar) is moving to the Free State and the tough Boland captain Gideon Koegelenberg is off to KwaZulu-Natal.
Also destined for the Free State are Griffons flyhalf François van Biljon, South Western Districts prop Marthinus Oosthuizen and Griquas fullback Granville Adams.
Namibia’s outside centre, tall, fast Divan Visser, has signed to play for the Golden Lions next year.
There will be more. The hunters will seek and find more. There is a slight difference this year in that provinces are required to inform the player’s home province if they are seeking to enter negotiations with him.
Ryno Eksteen, the Affies and Blue Bulls schoolboy player, might be a bigger loss to the Blue Bulls than what the acquisition of Handré Pollard is.
Ryno Eksteen is an extremely attacking and thinking flyhalf, breaks the line almost at will and a large factor in the Bulls taking the Craven Week Title so easily.
The Bulls don’t have tallent scouts. They heard about some names then they go buy everything that is availablel Its a hit and miss thing. They are sitting with 6 best young centers in the country. When are they going to see game time. They are stock piling and its going to hurt South African rugby. Poor Pollard is going to be brain washed in to a mindless zombie with no vision and kicking everything down a fullbacks throat just like all those Bulls 10’s from all these years. And everyone ask why these young guys disappear and pop up in a England or Ireland shirt.
2 @ Spooony:
It’s lekker in Pretoorsdorp…. the players WANT to come to P-Town!
good and bad
Why did Sadie and JJ leave WP – playtime
Same for Poolman & Roux, all of them are talented but was behind better players at the time, not all return eventually
Bulls need to be a bit careful here, but if you have the money why not, keep then best and let the others go if they want to
and try hard not to fuck it up like in the Odonggo case (mind you I don’t have the full story)
Just be careful, the money for everything stench can also scare some prospects away
There are a few more names on Supersport, all going to the Bulls.
17 years into professional rugby and we (me included) are still up in arms when one of “us” go to “them” … hehehe, seems like deep down the old provincialism is still there!!
@ grootblousmile:
That is exactly the point. They must be throwing huge sums of money at these guys because who wants to live in Pretoria? I asked this on Twitter and only answer they could provide they got a big Zoo there… WTF a zoo what are they ten years old. Only thing there is a zoo. Bulls legacy is down to shit. They are buying trophies ala Celtic and Rangers. Currie Cup is going to become the SPL and SA rugby is going to lose most of its talent and the left overs are going to be brainwashed by the Bulls to kick everything away and forget to tackle .
Not 3 months ago SARU announced a rule banning the signing of kids while still at school, then the Bulls announce they’ve signed Pollard.
WTF do SARU do in SA Rugby?
They can’t even enforce their own rules.
What a collective waste of Human body parts.
I didn’t know Craven Week was professional as they signed a SA schoolboy team almost to represent the Bulls next year. Since when has it turned professional? And since when is it legal to sign contracts with kids under the age of 18?
Lions pushed them all over the park. Fear not fellow bloggers, the dynamic backline stars will have no ball to play with.
Wors, got put through the wors masjien, chilli has no bite, Werner, is losing puff, and apart from CJ who is leaving, there is no threat in the loose forward dept. Potgieter (Caveman) is easy to counter, as he is so one dimensional, just like an Alberts of old. Dewald Potgieter is no threat, and Britney Spies, is all poster boy, and no action lol
spooony @ 9
you’ve got it wrong there bru
the team that represented them at the Craven week THIS year ALREADY was a professional side
the BBRU almost signed the whole of the swartland high (malmesbury) rugby team earlier this year!! caused quite a lot of controversy down here!!
@ ashley:
Then I miss read this
SuperSport
Johannesburg – Not content with their massive dominance at this year’s Craven Week tournament, the Blue Bulls Company has quietly assembled one of the best line-ups of schoolboy stars for their under-19 team in 2013, having snatched up almost every available schoolboy star in the country.
SuperSport.com reports that while there was a lot of hype surrounding the Bulls coup to sign SA under-20 flyhalf Handré Pollard, the union have also quietly ensured that the majority of their Craven Week team – who won all three their games at the schoolboy week by large margins – are contracted for the coming seasons.
But in addition to this they have snatched up some of the finest schoolboy talent as well to give themselves a squad that in schoolboy rugby terms comes close to an SA Schools squad on its own.
Pollard’s signature has meant that the Bulls pivot at Craven Week Ryno Eksteen decided to join Western Province and will be heading South along with Steve Meiring at the end of their schoolboy careers.
But while these two players will be seen as a loss, the Bulls have more than made up for it by signing a plethora of stars including the impressive Maritzburg College twins Daniel and Jesse Kriel.
While only Jesse made the SA Schools trial squad, both are highly rated across the country and will be expected to perform once they get to Pretoria.
The same goes for Free State hooker Corniel Els, Golden Lions flank Chris Massyn and his Western Province counterpart Corné Cooper. All three have been confirmed as Bulls as from 2013, and will be joined by Pumas scrumhalf Kobus Wolmarans, Boland prop Wilco Louw and three Western Province Academy Week players – Arno van Wyk, Justin Basson and Leighton van Wyk.
The Bulls have also signed the Queens College halfback pair of Josh Stander and halfback JP Smith – who were spitefully left out of the Border Craven Week squad when officials found out they had pledged their future to the Pretoria union. Both played for Border at the 2011 Craven Week.
These players will join 11 of the Bulls Craven Week squad already signed, with several others due to pledge their future to the Bulls, but who are still in Grade 11 at this moment and have not turned 18 yet.
Here the Sharks have to play JP at centre while the Bulls sit with 6 of them. That is nicely spreading the player pool. What are the Franchises there for anyone? Might as well revert back to the provinces because that is what it is.
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