VIDEO: Bulls 'locked and loaded'
Names like Frik du Preez, Ernst Dinkelmann, Louis Moolman, John Williams, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Krynauw Otto and Johan Ackermann – to name but a few – are among the legends the emerged from the second row factory at Loftus Versfeld.
More recently talented locks like Rudolf Snyman and Jason Jenkins emerged.
However, when the Bulls travel to Durban on Saturday to take on the Sharks in a Currie Cup semifinal there is a teenager that is emerging from the lock factory with plenty of promise.
He is 19-year-old Ruben van Heerden, who has stepped up in the absence of the 'senior' locks like Snyman and Jenkins.
Born in Alberton and schooled at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria, the teenager is by no means green.
His raw talent is in such abundance that he has already represented the Blue Bulls at Under-19, Under-21 and Currie Cup level – despite only finishing school in 2015.
This year can be seen as Van Heerden's breakout year, as he also made his Super Rugby debut off the bench against the Southern Kings.
He scored two tries for the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia and if this season is anything to go by, then higher honours for the young lock is inevitable.
