Luan Giliomee: Bulls' Bok stars accepted me with open arms
INTERVIEW: New Bulls recruit Luan Giliomee has opened up about his early experiences at the Bulls after recently joining the side from the Sharks.
Giliomee arrived in Pretoria a week ago after spending the early stages of his professional career with the Durban-based franchise.
The 20-year-old is one of the most exciting prospects in South African rugby and introduced himself to the world in style on his United Rugby Championship (URC) debut against Munster last season.
He also featured for the Junior Springboks at the U20 Rugby Championship and played for the SA ‘A’ team against Zimbabwe in June.
Giliomee was scheduled to join the Bulls prior to the season starting but had to fulfil his contract obligations with the Sharks.
Despite joining the Bulls a few weeks into the season, Giliomee says he has settled in well at Loftus, with several Springboks helping him feel at home.
“It’s been a flippin’ good experience,” he told reporters.
“I arrived on Sunday, got to training on Monday; the other guys were still on tour. Luckily enough, I had the privilege of being welcomed by the Springbok players.
“I had the privilege of training with them; I had a couple of walk-throughs with them and did my medicals with them. They showed me around and accepted me with open arms.”
*Continues below…
While he has settled in well at Loftus, the 20-year-old admits that joining a new team after pre-season comes with its own challenges.
One of those is getting to grips with the Bulls’ calls and playing systems.
“It’s definitely an experience joining another team in the middle of the season.
“I believe I’ve done my best; I’m still trying to do my best to understand their calls and to be part of the Bulls’ system.
“I’m just trying to make the rest of the guys comfortable playing with me.”
Although his move to Pretoria was already on the cards, Giliomee finished his Sharks stint on a high, producing two impressive performances in his final two outings.
He was superb against the Ospreys on his way to being named man of the match and topped that up with another impressive performance against Leinster.
Despite preparing to leave the Sharks, he says he wanted to bow out in style.
“My mindset [for those games] was kind of like ‘I have an opportunity this weekend’, and I had great coaches that backed me.
“I realised that no matter the fact that I’m going to the Bulls, I still get the chance to perform, and they’re backing me to perform.
“That was the motivational point for me, just to say thank you and to perform to the best of my abilities.”
The Ceres-born star is in line to make his debut for the Bulls this Saturday against Stade Français in the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup.
He’s described the competition as ‘amazing’ and hopes to make his mark against some of the best clubs in the world.
Beyond making an immediate impression, Giliomee is eager to learn from the experience around him and continue developing his game.
When asked which area of his game needed the most attention, the youngster refused to single one out.
“I think I need to improve on all aspects just to become better and start levelling up on everything.
“I’m gradually becoming a versatile player, and maybe there are some attack pointers that I can learn from the guys here.
“Defence pointers as well, and some key things I want to integrate into my game. I just want to become a better player.”
1 YEAR TO GO
The countdown is on until the biggest Men’s Rugby World Cup ever kicks off in Australia. Go All Out and secure your seats with tickets now available!
