Nortjé: Bulls put that Final failure behind them

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Bulls captain Ruan Nortjé says the loss in last season’s United Rugby Championship Final hurt a lot, but it is in the past.

The young Bulls skipper said they have moved on from their June 18 loss to the Stormers, as they prepare for this week’s big North vs South derby in Cape Town on Friday.

The two wily coaches – Jake White and John Dobson – are preparing their teams for yet another huge confrontation in the URC this weekend.

Nortjé reflected on the Final earlier this year that eluded his side and said he felt the Stormers were deserved winners on that day.

“It was definitely a difficult one to stomach but it is in the past and we have put it behind us,” Nortje said.

“We respect the Stormers, but this game is an important one for us on our road going forward.

“The Stormers have tremendous depth and although they have lost the services of Springbok Salmaan Moerat, I know that the experienced Marvin [Orie] will take any youngster coming into the squad under his wing.

“The battle in the line-outs will be huge with Marvin there.”

The Stormers have been masters in the scrums this year and Nortjé said that is one area the Bulls have struggled with in the past.

“We worked really hard at our scrums and it will again play a big role in the game.

“The Stormers have one of the best in the business with guys like Frans [Malherbe] and Kitsie [Steven Kitshoff] there and it will definitely be a huge test for us not to concede any penalties in the set phases.”

The Bulls fullback Sibongile Novuka, who played a big role in the Bulls’ fightback against Lyon at Loftus Versfeld a week ago, has shown that if you are old enough you are good enough, having been thrown in the deep end by White.

He helped get the Bulls on the board after only three minutes with his try after leaving the Lyon defence bemused and later he produced a superb cover tackle to save a try.

The youngster said although he has only recently made the step-up from Varsity Shield where he plied his trade for Fort Hare University and later UKZN, the challenge has been good.

“The professional set-up at the Bulls is good for me and it is great to pit myself against big-name players.

“It is the small things that build up to getting me to that green jersey one day. And to see other players I played with a move to the Springboks is good motivation for me.”