The 2nd Article in the set discussing the Southern Kings.

In this Article we look at the contenders for HOOKERS in the Southern Kings 2013 Super Rugby group, and what their worth will be in Super Rugby terms.

The Contenders:

Name: Bandise Maku:

Position Hooker Height 1.83 Weight 104 Date of Birth 24 June 1986 Place of Birth King William’s Town Provincial Debut 2006 for the Blue Bulls against the Chiefs Provincial Caps 82 Provincial Points 20 Super Rugby Debut 2008 for the Bulls Super Rugby Caps 33 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut 2009 vs Italy Test Caps 1 Test Points 0

He represented his local team Border Bulldogs at the 2004 Craven Week before moving to the Blue Bulls, for whom he played rugby at youth level.

He was first named in a Blue Bulls squad during the 2006 Vodacom Cup. He made his Currie Cup debut the following season, coming on as a 72nd minute substitute against Boland Cavaliers. A year later, he was also included in Bulls squad for the 2008 Super 14 season, making his debut in Rotorua against the Chiefs.

He joined the Lions for the 2011 Super Rugby season, where he started in 14 games. He also played Currie Cup rugby for the Golden Lions, where he was also a member of the starting line-up which defeated the Natal Sharks 42-16 to win the 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division. He was injured for the entire 2011 Super Rugby season, but did play some Currie Cup rugby at the end of the season.

2012 Was an up and down season for Maku, some injuries… and of course his side got relegated out of Super Rugby at the end of Super Rugby 2012.

He has now permanently joined the Kings for the 2013 Super Rugby season.

Bandise made a brief appearance for the Springboks and his first tour of duty for his country was with the Springboks to France, Italy, Ireland & England in late 2009. He earned his first cap for his country playing against Italy. In 2010, Maku was again called up for duty with the Springboks in a November tour of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. His call came two matches into the tour on 18 November 2010, after a controversial incident in which two other Springbok players tested positive for a banned substance.

Name: Edgar Marutlulle:

Position Hooker Height 1.74 Weight 93 Date of Birth 20 December 1987 Place of Birth Boksburg Provincial Debut 2010 for the Golden Lions vs Western Province Provincial Caps 37 Provincial Points 40 Super Rugby Debut 2011 for the MTN Lions vs Bulls Super Rugby Caps 8 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He represented Leopards at several youth levels before moving to the Golden Lions, where he made his first team debut against the Western Province in the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division.

He was included in the 2011 Lions Super Rugby squad, where he made his debut against the Bulls.

He rejoined the Leopards for the 2012 Currie Cup First Division season.

He joined the Kings on loan for the 2013 Super Rugby season.

Edgar is a product of Potchefstroom High School and represented SA Schools in 2005, SA Under 19 in 2006, SA Students in 2008 and 2009 when attending North-West University.

Name: Johannes (Hannes) Franklin:

Position Hooker Height 1.81 Weight 107 Date of Birth 6 October 1981 Place of Birth Randfontein Provincial Debut 2003 for the Falcons Provincial Caps 133 Provincial Points 130 Super Rugby Debut 2010 for the Lions Super Rugby Caps 12 Super Rugby Points 10 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

He made his professional debut for the Falcons in 2003, then spent one season at the Pumas and three seasons at SWD Eagles before returning to the Pumas in 2009. During his second spell at the Pumas, he also represented the Royal XV in a game during the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He was also included in the Lions Super Rugby squad in 2010.

He captained the Pumas side that beat the Eastern Province Kings in the 2010 Currie Cup Promotion / Relegation games, which kept the Pumas in the 2011 Currie Cup Premier Division, but he joined Eastern Province Kings for the 2011 Currie Cup First Division season.

Name: Virgil Lacombe:

Position Hooker Height 1.81 Weight 105 Date of Birth 7 July 1984 Place of Birth Brou-sur-Chantereine, France Provincial Debut 2004 for Stade Toulouse Provincial Caps 151 Provincial Points 60 Super Rugby Debut Super Rugby Caps 0 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

In 2000, Virgil Lacombe arrives at Stade Toulouse from Nîmes. That same year he played for the French Cadettes.

He made his first team debut on 19 November 2004, facing Castres Olympic as a replacement player and earned his first start on 10 May 2005 against SU Agen. He played 3 games in Top 16 and Heineken Cup during the 2004 – 2005 season, then 8 games in the Top 14 (including two starts) and two Heineken Cup games the following year. As from the 2006-2007 season and in his first professional contract year, his playing time became more regular and substantial.

His fisrst start in the Heineken Cup was on 29 October 2006 in a game against London Irish.

In 2011, he joined Brive and was released from his contract at Brive, following the demotion of Brive and re-joined Stade Toulouse.

Additional players

The players named and described above does not include the regular regular Border Bulldogs or SWD Eagles Currie Cup First Division or Vodacom Cup hookers or the Under 21 hookers, but as I’ve said before, I will limit discussion to players who WILL feature in Super Rugby in 2013.

Starters:

My guess is that Bandise Maku will the premier hooker, he certainly has enough Super Rugby experience with both the Vodacom Bulls and MTN Lions. The second in line is difficult to judge, as we do not yet know what standard of play the French Toulon import, Virgil Lacombe will achieve. Edgar Marutlulle could also make a valuable contribution.

The next Article in the range will deal with the Southern Kings locks.