For a young rugby star, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and the peak of social media have combined to create a potent opportunity of catching the right people’s attention at the right time in their careers, and which could open the door to bigger things.

“The Vodacom United Rugby Championship and social media are coming together perfectly. As a young player, if you put in a great performance or a Player of the Match performance on the weekend, you can be certain people are looking and will be talking about you on Monday. And the right people will be noticing,” says Bob Skinstad.

Skinstad was speaking on the back of another entertaining weekend of rugby in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship that has positioned itself as the platform for the next generation of international rugby stars to take their careers to the next level.

With a legacy in the game dating back to 1996, Vodacom has supported rugby as it transitioned from the amateur to professional era, and then from pre-social media to the digital media revolution now driving the game forward. Their deep investment into the game includes the creation of bespoke rugby content for their digital platforms, showcasing even further the depth of talent in South Africa.

And none more so than in the case of Vodacom Bulls winger Madosh Tambwe, who produced another strong Player of the Match performance in their 21-13 victory over the Emirates Lions at Loftus Versfeld.

Madosh Tambwe of the Vodacom Bulls and Francke Horn of the Emirates Lions during the United Rugby Championship 2021/22 game between the Emirates Lions and the Vodacom Bulls at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on 29 January 2022
©Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

“He was the standout player for me in that game. He did start by giving away a penalty, but then he just powered through the rest of that match. Madosh is big, strong, and fast. He’s finishing well and making big tackles, and isn’t making too many huge defensive errors.” says Skinstad.

On a weekend of back-to-back rugby up north and where Skinstad says he was pleased to see a host of South Africans stand out, the former Springbok skipper says this was a weekend where the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in particular delivered on its promise to keep things interesting. Ulster gave the South African teams some hope of climbing the log with their 32-12 win against Connacht, and the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers did exactly what they needed to do to just secure the points.

“From a personal point of view, it’s nice for me to see the Stormers leading the way for the South African teams. Their 20-10 victory over the Sharks was a bit of an arm-wrestle, but that happens when two teams know each other so well. But what was pleasing for me, and I think it will be the same for John Dobson, is that the Stormers have until now scored 58% of their points in the first half, and in this match, it was great to see them shift that around and be dominant in the second half as well. And the chip-and-chase try by Seabelo Senatla before halftime was brilliant. Overall, I think the DHL Stormers did a much better job of their exits from the danger zones. As for the Jukskei derby, it was typical 10-man rugby from the Bulls but it got them the points they needed, and with Morné Steyn again providing such consistency with his kicking.”

Seabelo Senatla of the Stormers scores a try during the United Rugby Championship 2021/22 game between the Stormers and the Sharks at Cape Town Stadium on 5 February 2022 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Looking ahead, Skinstad sees the DHL Stormers in the best position of all the South African teams as the international leg of the competition edges closer for them.

“I think they’ll feel they can make a real run of it and I’m looking forward to when they travel. Sure, they’re still in the bottom half of the table. But they have games in hand. If they win their remaining games, they’ll overtake Connacht on the log. As it stands they’ve got two matches in hand and are only two points behind Connacht.”

 Another bruising encounter can be expected when the Vodacom Bulls take on the Emirates Lions on Saturday in the return game of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. This time Loftus Versfeld will be the battlefield as the home side will look to repeat their 34-10 victory from last weekend.

However, the side from Tshwane is wary of the challenge that lies ahead as prop, Simphiwe Matanzima, sees opportunities for improvement for his side while centre Harold Vorster has indicated that the Vodacom Bulls has set new standards this week for Round 2 of the Jukskei bout.

“We always look at ourselves – there’s always room for improvements,” said Matanzima in the buildup to the game.

“We did have a good performance [last weekend], but there are some facets of the game that we can improve. We are just looking forward to a complete performance on Saturday, touching upon all the small details.”

Looking back at last weekend’s victory, Vorster was pleased with his side’s execution and is wary of a fightback from a “wounded” Emirates Lions side this week.

“We just managed to put them under pressure, and we executed our plans well on the day. I don’t think they lack anything, they are still a very good side,” said the former Emirates Lions centre.

“It’s now a fresh week – the past weekend is gone, and I’m pretty sure that the Emirates Lions are having good preparations. We have to set new standards for ourselves this week.”

The Vodacom Bulls will announce their team to take on the Emirates Lions on Friday.

The match will kick off at 15h00 on Saturday, and it will be televised on SuperSport.

AFGRI joins the Vodacom Bulls in congratulating director of rugby, Jake White, and loose-forward, Elrigh Louw, for scooping the SA Rugby Coach of the Year and Carling Currie Cup Player of the Year awards for 2021, respectively.

SA Rugby announced the winners of the prestigious rugby awards yesterday.

White emerged as the winner in the coaching category, where he was nominated alongside Springbok mentor, Jacques Nienaber, and Springbok Sevens coach, Neil Powell.

Louw’s performances in a successful season for the Vodacom Bulls were recognised as he beat teammate, Johan Goosen, and DHL Stormers’ Evan Roos, for the Carling Currie Cup Player of the Year award.

“We are very proud of the feat achieved by Jake White and Elrigh Louw whose hard work and dedication has been rightfully recognised nationally,” said Blue Bulls Company CEO, Edgar Rathbone.

“These accolades are testament to the vision of growing the Vodacom Bulls to become a competitive, successful and top rugby franchise in South Africa and internationally. We are equally proud of the nominations of Johan Goosen, Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Junior Springbok Player of the Year) and the Vodacom Bulls (Team of the Year, alongside winners the Springboks and Springbok Sevens).

“Congratulations Jake and Elrigh! You continue to inspire us all to aim for greater success.”

Vodacom Bulls’ latest recruit, Cyle Brink, will make his debut for the side when they take on DHL Western Province in a Carling Currie Cup encounter tonight. The Vodacom Bulls head to Cape Town with a strong team for their second match of the 2022 campaign.

After getting the season off to a winning start in the opening match against the Pumas over the weekend, head coach, Gert Smal, selected an equally exciting match-day 23 for the traditional North versus South derby at DHL Stadium.

Prop Simphiwe Matanzima, hooker Bismarck du Plessis, and flanker Marcell Coetzee, who will captain the side, will be part of a powerful pack of forwards.

Veteran, Morne Steyn, will spearhead a thrilling backline which will include a centre pairing of Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe, while the back three will be made up of Sibongile Novuka and Canan Moodie, with James Verity-Amm starting at fullback.

Vodacom Bulls Carling Currie Cup head coach, Gert Smal, said: “We are up for a big challenge against a good DHL Western Province side, who are always very dangerous when playing at home.

“We are fortunate to have the opportunity to blend some valuable experience with some exciting youthful talent for this important fixture.

“We are looking forward to a tough physical battle and some entertaining rugby which we have become accustomed to when these two sides face each other.”

 The Vodacom Bulls team to face DHL Western Province is:

Forwards (1-8): Simphiwe Matanzima (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Bismarck du Plessis (Betway Centurion), Robert Hunt (Harlequins), Sintu Manjezi (Harlequins), Janko Swanepoel (Pretoria), Marcell Coetzee (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Cyle Brink (Betway Centurion), Muller Uys (FNB Tuks).

 Backline (9-15): Marco Jansen van Vuren (Pretoria), Morne Steyn (Tuine), Sibongile Novuka (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Harold Vorster (Northam), Lionel Mapoe (Pretoria), Canan Moodie (Tuine), James Verity-Amm (Pretoria).

 Replacements (16-23): Schalk Erasmus (Tuine), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Pretoria), Sebastian Lombard (Betway Centurion), Reinardt Ludwig (FNB Tuks), WJ Steenkamp (Tuine), Keagan Johannes (FNB Tuks), FC du Plessis (Betway Centurion), Stedman Gans (Northam).

Cornal Hendricks will captain a strong Vodacom Bulls team in their opening match of the side’s Carling Currie Cup defence when they take on the Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium on Friday night.

Vodacom Bulls’ Carling Currie Cup head coach, Gert Smal, has selected a strong starting XV and an exciting group of replacements on the bench.

“We have put in some good, hard work over the past few weeks in preparation for the Carling Currie Cup, which promises to be a tough competition yet again this season. We are looking forward to seeing all of that work come together this weekend,” said Smal.

“The Pumas, particularly on their own turf in Mbombela, have always proven to be a tough opposition. We have no doubts that our match on Friday will be another hard-fought battle to kick-off the tournament.”

The match will kick off at 19h00 and will be televised on SuperSport.

 The Vodacom Bulls team to take on Pumas is:

Forwards (1-8): Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Walt Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje, Jaco Labuschagne, Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha.

Backline (9-15): Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Richard Kriel, Cornal Hendricks (Capt), David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Replacements (16-23): Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lizo Gqoboka, Robert Hunt, Sintu Manjezi, WJ Steenkamp, Zak Burger, Juan Mostert, Stedman Gans.