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Duane Vermeulen of the Bulls in action during a game between the Bulls and Sharks.
Anton Geyser / Gallo Images
- Duane Vermeulen received well-deserved applause from rugby director Jake White after leading the Bulls to a complete 41-14 victory over the Sharks.
- “When he’s on the song, everyone follows him,” White said of the Bulls pattern.
- The Bulls scored six attempts in a dominant victory at Loftus that placed them once again among the Super Rugby Unlocked title contenders.
Player of the match and Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen received well-deserved applause from rugby director Jake White after leading the Pretoria men to a sweeping 41-14 victory over the Sharks at Loftus on Saturday.
Vermeulen’s experience and physique proved the exchange difference for the hosts, who were under pressure from the start when the Sharks dominated the scrums.
But, as White revealed after the game, World Cup winner Bok No. 8 kept his head calm in the first quarter before the Bulls systematically dismantled the Sharks in a six-shot break.
“You’re not always going to get things to go the way you want at first, but the way they came back [was laudable]”White said of the difficult first trimester.
“We adapt. I thought the way Duane captained everyone together and basically talking about what we needed to do to get it right and the way the coaches talked at half time was nice to me too.
“There was calm and understanding about what we needed to do to do things well. That comes with teams that stay together for a long time.
“When you see that with a relatively new team, you get really excited about it. There’s also a lot being learned, which was nice. “
The 34-year-old was a key cog in Rassie Erasmus’s triumphant squad in Japan last year, and he and Bok head coach Jacques Nienaber would have been smiling watching Vermeulen return to his dominant best.
Vermeulen stole the ball from the Sharks in the break, working a beautiful gig with flanks Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw, and shoved several of the opposition carriers back with some hard-hitting punches.
It was clear that many of the Bulls’ struggles in Super Rugby earlier this year, where they won just one game before the coronavirus pandemic hit, were largely attributed to not having a player with Vermeulen present.
But White’s Bulls don’t have those issues to deal with and will now be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the Super Rugby Unlocked competition, and the ensuing Currie Cup, after that dominant performance against the Sharks.
“When Duane is on the song, everyone follows him,” White said.
“He has that kind of personality and that kind of aura on our team. He did not play after the Green vs. Gold game (Springbok Showdown) and he did not play in the Griquas game.
“But now he’s played two games in a row and he’s played 80 minutes in both games, which means the more he plays and the more he plays for this team, and the more he’s on the field, the better for us.
“We also saw for the Springboks that when he is on the song it is very good for us because all the team members follow him.
“One of the things we could do is give it a try [to rest] And give Arno Botha No. 8 and see if those combinations work or not.
“There is plenty of time now, not only is it left in the Super Rugby Unlocked competition, but also the Currie Cup before we have a short break and then the PRO14 (PRO16) competition begins.
“It is a work in progress for us. We are going to try many combinations. “
