Blue Bulls

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Blue Bulls
Full name	Vodacom Blue Bulls
Emblem	Bull
Colours	Blue
Founded	1938
Sport	Rugby union
League	Currie Cup
Ground	Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Official website	bluebull.co.za

The Blue Bulls, for sponsorship reasons named Vodacom Blue Bulls, or more popularly by the club's Afrikaans name Die Blou Bulle, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng province.

From its first year of existence Northern Transvaal was a formidable force in South African rugby, with many Springboks rising through their ranks. During World War II there were no local rugby competitions and they first lifted the Currie Cup only in 1946. Eventually the side was nickamed the Blue Bulls, a name that has stuck with them ever since.

In later years, because of political changes in South Africa, many of the provinces in the country were renamed. As the result the Northern Transvaal Rugby Union became the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, and Northern Transvaal became known only by their original nickname: the Blue Bulls. When Vodacom became the team's biggest sponsor their name was also added: previously the side was sponsored by ExxonMobil and known as the Mobil Blue Bulls.

Contents 1 History 2 Rivalry with Western Province 3 Location 4 Current squad 5 Finals results 5.1 Currie Cup 5.2 Notes 6 Notable players 6.1 100 matches or more 6.2 Springboks 7 Records and statistics 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

The team has its beginnings in 1938 when the then Northern Transvaal Rugby Union broke away from the Transvaal Rugby Football Union to gain status as an independent rugby union. The new team were simply named Northern Transvaal and donned light blue jerseys with a red Barberton daisy emblem. From their first year of existence Northern Transvaal were a formidable force in South African rugby, with many Springboks rising through their ranks. In their first year of existence, the British Lions were carrying out a South Africa tour, and played Northern Transvaal on July 13 that year. The Lions won by eight points, defeating Northern Transvaal 20 to 12. During World War II there was no local rugby competitions and they first lifted the Currie Cup only in 1946, when they beat the Western Province 11 points to nine at home at Loftus Versfeld. Three years later, the Northern Transvaal played the All Blacks whilst they were on tour, and lost by only three points, with the final score being six to three to the New Zealanders.

Northern Transvaal next appeared in the Currie Cup final for the 1954 season, again meeting rivals Western Province, though unlike their previous encounter of 1946, the Western Province won the match, 11 to eight, which was played at Newlands. Northern Transvaal made it to the final of the Currie Cup again, less than two seasons following their 1954 defeat, meeting the Natal Sharks at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, which Northern Transvaal won by just one point, with the final score being nine to eight, which saw the Northern Transvaal capture their second Currie Cup title. The British Lions came to South Africa the following season, and played Northern Transvaal in Pretoria, winning 14 to 11. In 1960, Northern Transvaal played the All Blacks for the second time, though the score was not as close this time around, with the All Blacks winning 27 to three. They played the British Lions again in 1962 and won, 14 points to six, though it would not be until the 1968 season that they would feature in anothe Currie Cup final, were they met Transvaal, defeating them 16 to three at home. Ten of the players from the 1968 side went onto become Springboks and some consider this team to be one of the greatest Northern Transvaal sides ever.^[1] Northern Transvaal did not slow down the following season either, beating the Western Province 28 to 13 in the subsequent season's final. The two Currie Cup wins of the late 1960s led the way for a golden era of Northern Transvaal rugby.

After the 1969 win over rivals Western Province, the Northern Transvaal went onto to feature in a third successive Currie Cup final, though they were not as successful as they were in 1968 and 69, going down to Griqualand West 11 points to nine in the 1970 season decider. Also that year the team played the All Blacks, and led them nine points to six at half time, though the All Blacks fought back to eventually wn 19 to 15. Northern Transvaal made it to the final of the 1971 Currie Cup, going undefeated throughout the season, though they did not win the match, instead, drawing it, 14 points all at Ellis Park. After four consecutive Currie Cup finals appearances, the streak ended in the 1972 season. However, the following season, 1973, Northern Transvaal were back in the picture, and defeated the Orange Free State 30 points to 22. This was the first of five Currie Cup wins from six seasons; the 1973 win was followed by the 17 to 15 win over Transvaal in 1974; the 12 to six win over the Orange Free State. On August 21, 1976, 65,000 people packed into Loftus to watch the All Blacks take on Northern Transvaal, which was actually the 700th All Black game. Like their previous encounter, the All Blacks had found themselves behind at half-time - by 13 points. New Zealand fought back, though Northern Transvaal held on to the match, and won, 29 to 27. Northern Transvaal proceeded with two subsequent Currrie Cup final victories, both over the Orange Free State, in 1977 and 1978. Northern Transvaal ensured that the only finals they did not contest in the 1970s were in 1972 and 1975, by making it to the 1979 final, though they were defeated by old rivals, the Western Province.

The 1980s, was arguably just as successful for Northern Transvaal as 1970s was for the team. The decade kicked off with a 1980 Currie Cup title; with Northern Transvaal, led by Naas Botha, defeated the Western Province by thirty points in front of a home crowd. They defeated the Orange Free State the following year to claim the 1981 season as well. Northern Transvaal featured in the 1982,84 and 85, going down to the Western Province on all occasions. However after three final defeats, Northern Transvaal backed up with three final victories to see out the 1980s, defeating Transvaal in the 1987 final, and then beating the Western Province in the 1988 and 1989 finals. The 1990s saw a successful start for Northern Transvaal, making it to the final of the 1990 season to defend their Currie Cup title. They however went down to the Sharks 18 points to 12. The two sides faced off again in the following season decider, which saw Northern Transvaal come out on top, winning 27 to 15.

When rugby union went professional, the Super 12 competition was born, a provincial contest between teams from Australia and New Zealand as well as South Africa. Whilst Australia and New Zealand started new franchises for competition, the South African teams for the first season were selected upon the basis of the 1995 Currie Cup standings, which saw Northern Transvaal, along with Transvaal, Western Province and Natal all enter the new competition in 1996. Northern Transvaal did quite well - winning eight of their 11 fixtures, which saw them finish third on the ladder after the regular season, and thus qualif for the semi-finals. They however went down to the Auckland Blues in the semi, that took place at Eden Park. The team participated in the 1997 season as well, though their performance was not as good as that of 1996's, as the team won only three games and finished in eighth position. In 1997, Northern Transvaal defeated the British Lions on their tour of South Africa. Northern Transvaal, or the Blue Bulls made only one other apperace during the 1990s, at the 1998 Currie Cup final, where they, thought to be underdogs, defeated the Western Province 24 to 20 at home.

The next time the Blue Bulls would be contesting a Currie Cup final would be in 2002, where they defeated the Golden Lions 31 to seven at Ellis Park. They backed this up the following season, defeating the Natal Sharks 40 to 19 in the final. The Blue Bulls made it three titles in a row following their 200 victory over the Free State Cheetahs in the final. The Blue Bulls, on their way to five titles in a row, were stopped by the Free State Cheetahs in 2005, who won 42 to 33. After round two of the 2006 Currie Cup, coach Heyneke Meyer will be stepping down following the match against the Golden Lions at Ellis Park. It was confirmed prior to round two, and said that Meyer wishes to focus more on the Super 14. Pote Human will then takeover, being one of Meyer's assistants as well as a former Eastern Province and Free State loose forward.

[edit] Rivalry with Western Province

Through the years the rivalry between the Blue Bulls and Western Province has become legendary, and a clash between these two sides is always a showcase event in the tournament and is considered one of the biggest sporting rivalries in South Africa.^[2]

The first time that the two sides met in an actual Currie Cup final was in 1946, which was also, Northern Transvaal's first final contest. The match was played at Northern Transvaal's home ground at Loftus Versfeld, and saw the Western Province go down 11 to nine.

After meeting in numerous other finals following 1946, it would not be until the 1979 season, when the Western Province would defeat Northern Transvaal in a Currie Cup final. Northern Transvaal then defeated them in the subsequent final. In the 1980s the two sides met in five Currie Cup finals, with the Western Province winning three of them.

The most recent Currie Cup season when the two sides both made it to the final was that of the 1998 season, when the Blue Bulls won by four points, winning 24 to 20 at Loftus Versfeld. Although the Blue Bulls lost twice to WP during the 2006 seaon, the Blue Bulls defeated them in the semi final at Loftus to advance to their fifth final in five years.

In recent years, the great rivalry between the Blue Bulls and Western Province has faded. It has been many years since the decades that these two teams dominated the Currie Cup competition and new rivalries have come to the foreground. Many Blue Bull fans actually agree that the rivalry has shifted towards Free State, especially after both teams qualified for the Currie Cup final for the third consecutive year in 2006. Statistics have shown that Loftus Versfeld currently experiences more incidents of bad behavior during Bulls home games against Free State and the Natal Sharks, than during any other games in the season, including those against Western Province.^[3]

[edit] Location

The home ground of the Blue Bulls is the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, which was first used for sports in 1906, ans rugby in 1908, when the site was known as the Eastern Sports Ground. The stadium was later renamed after Mr Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, the founder of organised sports in Pretoria, and dedicated many years of his life to rugby union. The stadium at its current configuration has a 50,000 all-seater capacity, and is shared with the Bulls. Loftus is viewed by some to be somewhat of a fortress for the Blue Bulls, as they have an impressive record at the stadium.^[4] The stadium is expected to receive minor upgrades in the near future as it will be hosting matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Blue Bulls represent the Limpopo province, the northernmost province in South Africa, as well as part of the Gauteng province, drawing all their players from these two areas. The number of players that have gone on to represent the national team, the Springboks, has led to the nickname, the Blue Bulls Bok factory, in reference to the quality of players that have been produced from within the represented areas.

[edit] Current squad

Heinie Adams Wium Arlow Stefan Basson Gary Botha Lodie Britz Warren Brosnihan Danie Coetzee Marius Delport Danwel Demas Tim Dlulane

Jaco Engels Adriaan Fondse Rayno Gerber Derick Hougaard Derick Kuün Hilton Lobberts Hottie Louw Jacques-Louis Potgieter John Mametsa Cliff Milton JP Nel

Trompie Nontshinga Wynand Olivier Neil Powell Johan Roets Wessel Roux Dries Scholtz Morné Steyn Adriaan Strauss Kennedy Tsimba Riaan van der Bergh Kobus van der Walt

Francois van Schouwenburg Ruan Vermeulen Emile Verster Pedrie Wannenburg Johan Wasserman Frikkie Welsh

[edit] Finals results

[edit] Currie Cup

Season	Winners	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1946	Northern Transvaal	11 - 9	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1954	Western Province	11 - 8	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1956	Northern Transvaal	9 - 8	Natal Sharks	King's Park, Durban
1968	Northern Transvaal	16 - 3	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1969	Northern Transvaal	28 - 13	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1970	Griqualand West	11 - 9	Northern Transvaal	De Beers, Kimberley
1971	Transvaal	14 - 14	Northern Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1973	Northern Transvaal	30 - 22	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1974	Northern Transvaal	17 - 15	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1975	Northern Transvaal	12 - 6	Orange Free State	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1977	Northern Transvaal	27 - 12	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1978	Northern Transvaal	13 - 9	Orange Free State	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
1979	Western Province	15 - 15	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1980	Northern Transvaal	39 - 9	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1981	Northern Transvaal	23 - 6	Orange Free State	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1982	Western Province	24 - 7	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1984	Western Province	19 - 9	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1985	Western Province	22 - 15	Northern Transvaal	Newlands, Cape Town
1987	Northern Transvaal	24 - 18	Transvaal	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
1988	Northern Transvaal	19 - 18	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1989	Northern Transvaal	16 - 16	Western Province	Newlands, Cape Town
1990	Natal Sharks	18 - 12	Northern Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1991	Northern Transvaal	27 - 15	Transvaal	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1998	Blue Bulls1	24 - 20	Western Province	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2002	Blue Bulls	31 - 7	Golden Lions2	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2003	Blue Bulls	40 - 19	Natal Sharks	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2004	Blue Bulls	42 - 33	Free State Cheetahs3	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2005	Free State Cheetahs	29 - 25	Blue Bulls	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2006	Free State Cheetahs	28 - 28	Blue Bulls	Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

[edit] Notes

[edit] Notable players

[edit] 100 matches or more

Name Position Total number of app. Naas Botha Fly-half 179 Louis Moolman Lock 171 Thys Lourens Flanker 168 Adolf Malan Lock 159 Deon Oosthuysen Wing 140 Adrian Richter Number 8 137 Jacques Olivier Wing 137 Uli Schmidt Hooker 136 Joost van der Westhuizen Scrum-half 133 Tommy du Plessis Scrum-half 126 Heinrich Rodgers Prop 116

Name Position Total number of app. Willie Kahts Hooker 110 Mof Myburgh Prop 109 Frik du Preez Flanker/lock 109 Johan Heunis Full back 109 Gerbrand Grobler Fullback 108 Lourens Campher Prop 107 Jan Lock Prop 106 Pote Fourie Loose forward 105 FA Meiring Centre/wing 105 Jannie Claassens Centre 102 Johan Lamprecht Loose forward 101

[edit] Springboks

Name Year of birth Ferdie Bergh 1906 Lukas Strachan 1907 Danie Craven 1910 Ben du Toit 1912 Roger Sherriff 1913 Fiks van der Merwe 1917 Fonnie du Toit 1920 Hansie Brewis 1920 Jorrie Jordaan 1920 Louis Strydom 1921 Willem Barnard 1923 Jaap Bekker 1925 Daan Retief 1925 Salty du Rand 1926 Dolf Bekker 1926 Ernst Dinkelman 1927 Martiens Bekker 1930 Tom van Vollenhoven 1935 Poens Prinsloo 1935 Frik du Preez 1935 Louis Schmidt 1936 Robert Twigge 1936 Mof Myburgh 1936 Stompie van der Merwe 1936 Chris Bezuidenhout 1937 Piet Uys 1937 Corra Dirksen 1938 Mannetjies Roux 1939 Gys Pitzer 1939 Albie Bates 1941

Name Year of birth Thys Lourens 1943 Piston van Wyk 1943 Johan Spies 1945 John Williams 1946 Willem Stapelberg 1947 Willie Kahts 1947 Tonie Roux 1947 Piet du Plessis 1947 Daan du Plessis 1948 Niek Bezuidenhout 1950 Louis Moolman 1951 Moaner van Heerden 1951 Christo Wagenaar 1952 Pierre Edwards 1953 Tommy du Plessis 1953 Ewoud Malan 1953 Thys Burger 1954 Ockie Oosthuizen 1955 Theuns Stofberg 1955 Darius Botha 1955 Burger Geldenhuys 1956 Ray Mordt 1957 Johan Heunis 1958 Naas Botha 1958 Frans Erasmus 1959 Uli Schmidt 1961 Adolf Malan 1961 Willie Hills 1962 Heinrich Rodgers 1962 Adriaan Richter 1966

Name Year of birth Henry Tromp 1966 Drikus Hattingh 1968 Jacques Oliver 1968 Ruben Kruger 1970 Johan Ackerman 1970 Marius Hurter 1970 Joost van der Westhuizen 1971 Krynauw Otto 1971 Schutte Bekker 1971 Franco Smith 1972 André Snyman 1974 Richard Bands 1974 Danie van Schalkwyk 1975 Norman Jordaan 1975 Wessel Roux 1975 Victor Matfield 1977 Danie Coetzee 1977 Jaco van der Westhuyzen 1978 Danie Rossouw 1978 Bakkies Botha 1979 Geo Cronje 1980 Pedrie Wannenburg 1981 Gary Botha 1981 Fourie du Preez 1982 Jacques Cronje 1982 Derick Hougaard 1983 Bryan Habana 1983 Wynand Olivier 1983 Pierre Spies 1985

[edit] Records and statistics

Main article: List of Blue Bulls records and statistics

A number of records were broken in a 1996 Currie Cup match against the South Western Districts, which the Blue Bulls won, with the final score being 147 points to eight. This records stands as both the largest victory and highest score for the Blue Bulls. Also in that match, the record for the number of tries scored in a match was set, at 23, along with an individual record for the most tries in a match, seven, by Jacques Olivier. That 1996 season ended up being the highest scoring Currie Cup season for the Blue Bulls, standing at 1193 points, over 28 matches. The most career appearances by a player for the Blue Bulls, is 184, which was set by Burger Geldenhuys, who played for the team from 1977 to 1989.

[edit] References

1. ^ CURRIE CUP GLORY. bluebull.co.za. Retrieved on 2 July 2006.
2. ^ The biggest rivalry in South Africa. tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved on 2 July 2006.
3. ^ Incidents of bad behavior at Loftus Versfeld (Afrikaans). koerantberigte.media24.com. Retrieved on 13 October 2006.
4. ^ Sports stadiums in South Africa. southafrica.info. Retrieved on 2 July 2006.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Fan site
• New Zealand vs Northern Transvaal at Loftus Versfeld