Simelane on Bulls journey: 'I’ve got no one to blame but myself'
SPOTLIGHT: Wandisile Simelane admits that he hasn’t been close to reaching his full potential since joining the Bulls.
The 25-year-old is still in his first full season at the Pretoria franchise after leaving the Lions in the middle of 2022.
After wearing the No.13 jersey in Johannesburg, Simelane is now seen as a utility back by Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White and he has been shifted between the back three and the midfield on a number of occasions this season.
Finding form has been a struggle for the player, but he still has plenty of confidence to turn things around.
“I am learning a lot every day,” said Simelane. “Personally, I know for a fact I haven’t reached the strides that I would have loved to reach right now, but that is sport.
“There are ups and downs and the only thing I can do is continue working hard and I know I will reach my strides soon and reach that form.”
He added: “It’s as frustrating for me as it is for anyone. As athletes, we are all competitive.
“I’m a competitive athlete, so I always want to play at the highest level and in saying that I know for a fact that I am not where I want to be in terms of my form and in terms of the things that I want to achieve on the field.
“So, as frustrating as it is, I’ve got no one to blame but myself.
“I just carry on by putting in the hard work on the training field and when I get my opportunity, I need to give it my all.
“Also, not getting too frustrated in the sense of trying to force things.
“It’s more important for the team to do well and for me personally to do well in the structure of the team.
“As much as it is frustrating, I just know I must just keep on working hard and it [form] will come.”
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When asked about the tricky nature of constantly shifting positions, Simelane answered: “I am just working hard to get back to my full potential that I know that I can reach, whether that is at wing, fullback or centre.
“Right now I just want to be on the field playing as many minutes as I possibly can to reach that form.
“Once I am there, then playing centre will always be my No.1 position. But right now, I want to compete week in and week out at the highest level.
“I just need to work hard and put in a couple of good 80-minute games and then take it from there.
“There is a method to the madness. Week in and week out I am getting more comfortable playing at No.15 and centre will come naturally to me.
“I can wake up any day and play outside centre, but there is a bit of work to be done at No.15 and I must say there is a massive improvement from the first game I played there.
“I am getting more comfortable there and I know for a fact I will get back to my best and that will definitely be sooner rather than later.”
Despite being comfortable in the midfield, Simelane knows that he is far from the finished product.
“I am not a complete No.13 at all,” he said.
“There’s a million skills I still need to work on.
“I watch an inspiration like Lukhanyo and the things he gets right in the No.13 position and it’s things that I need to work on.
“I watch great fullbacks like Wille le Roux and Kurt-Lee [Arendse], who are very good at certain things that they do at No.15, which I sometimes don’t get right.
“There are definitely work-ons in both positions and it gives me a lot of work and pressure to be able to juggle both positions.
“It’s two different positions but I am loving the challenge at the moment.
“The minute I hit rock bottom and I work on everything I need to work on, it will just be up from here.”
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