VIDEO: Spotlight on the Vermeulen factor
NORTH-SOUTH DERBY: One swallow does not a summer make. However, Daniel Johannes Vermeulen is a factor worth taking note of.
The 34-year-old World Cup-winning Springbok’s family is based in Cape Town, where his children go to school.
Yet, he will lead the Bulls at Newlands on Saturday.
While he alone can’t beat Western Province on their home ground, WP coach John Dobson readily admits Duane Vermeulen is the Bulls’ game driver.
Vermeulen has a rich and illustrious history in the game.
Born and schooled in Nelspruit, he also represented the Pumas (or South Eastern Transvaal) in age-grade rugby.
Then he played 20-odd games for them at senior level, before moving on to better and bigger things – the Cheetahs (40-odd games), Western Province (30-odd games), Stormers (90 games), Toulon (68) and Kubota Spears in Japan – before arriving in Pretoria last year.
And his stint at Loftus Versfeld was not to top up his pension fund, as some cynics suggested.
The veteran Bok, with 54 Test caps and a World Cup gold medal, is determined to show he still has a few good years left in him.
That theory will certainly be tested when he leads the Bulls against the Bok-laden Province team in Cape Town on Saturday.
“This is the best he has felt in a long time,” Bulls coach and Director of Rugby Jake White told a virtual media briefing this week – when quizzed about Vermeulen’s return to Newlands, his former stomping ground.
“He says he can’t wait to get to Newlands and face WP. He knows them well and he knows the ground well.”
Vermeulen has added energy to the Bulls’ build-up for the big north-south derby this week.
(Continue below video …)
“He is going home to see his family and play at Newlands. He is the most fired up I have seen him in a long time.”
White admitted there is a temptation to rest Vermeulen – who has played 80 minutes off all six the Bulls’ games in Super Rugby Unlocked.
However, the powerful loose forward is keen and ready to front up one more time.
“He knows it is important to be the leader, he knows it is important he shows the team he has bought into the plan.
“We have had some stern talks to a lot of players, telling them that ‘if you want to stay at the Bulls you have to show that you are committed’.
“No person can question Vermeulen’s commitment. The team sees just how committed he is.
“I am not saying it lightly, he is really looking forward to this game. He has been waiting a long time for this game.
“He knows this is the one at Newlands.
“There are obviously a lot of Springboks that are playing this weekend and he wants to play well against them.
“His family will be there and it will give him an added incentive to really put a performance on.”
The Province coach, Dobson, described the Bulls captain as a “world-class” player.
“He has lots of friends at this union and is a great competitor,” Dobson said.
“We know what a threat he and Marco van Staden are on the ground.
“We have a plan for the game that is quite a bit different to what we had at Loftus,” he said of the Stormers’ 6-39 loss to the Bulls in a Super Rugby Unlocked match four weeks ago.
He said the Province game plan is not centred around Vermeulen or Van Staden.
“We are very aware of the threat,” Dobson said, adding: “He is a massive threat on the ground and contestable kicks in the air.
“You can see he is the game driver.
“We have a lot of respect for him.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
