2019 Bulls (rugby union) season

Bulls
2019 season
Head coachPote Human
CaptainLood de Jager
StadiumLoftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Overall5th
South African Conference2nd
RecordWon 8, Drew 2, Lost 6
Top try scorerAll: Cornal Hendricks and
Rosko Specman (5)
Top points scorerAll: Handré Pollard (194)

In 2019, the Bulls participated in the 2019 Super Rugby competition, the 24th edition of the competition since its inception in 1996. They were included in the South African Conference of the competition, along with the Jaguares, Lions, Sharks and Stormers.

The Bulls won eight, drew two and lost six of their matches during the regular season of the competition to finish second in the South African Conference, and in 5th place overall to qualify for the finals as a wildcard team. They lost in their quarterfinal match to the Hurricanes.

Personnel

Coaches and management

The Bulls coaching and management staff for the 2019 Super Rugby season were:[1]

2019 Bulls coaches and management
Name Title
Alan Zondagh Director of Rugby
Pote Human Head coach
Chris Rossouw Backline and attack coach
Daan Human Scrum and maul specialist coach
Anton Leonard Lineout specialist
Hayden Groepes Skills coach (incl. kicking and kicking strategy)
Pine Pienaar Defence coach
John-William Meyer Technical analyst

Squad

The following players were named in the Bulls squad for the 2019 Super Rugby season:[2][3]

2019 Bulls squad
Player Position/s Date of birth (age) Super Rugby Bulls
Apps Pts Apps Pts
Tim Agaba Loose forward (1989-07-23)23 July 1989 (aged 29) 1 0 1 0
Matthys Basson Prop (1995-06-09)9 June 1995 (aged 23) 2 0 2 0
Thembelani Bholi Loose forward (1990-01-18)18 January 1990 (aged 29) 30 5 14 0
Marnitz Boshoff Fly-half (1989-01-11)11 January 1989 (aged 30) 32 246 3 11
Schalk Brits Hooker (1981-05-16)16 May 1981 (aged 37) 63 20 0 0
Lood de Jager Lock (1992-12-17)17 December 1992 (aged 26) 60 25 20 20
Nick de Jager Loose forward (1990-02-07)7 February 1990 (aged 29) 29 20 29 20
Carel du Preez Loose forward (1993-04-30)30 April 1993 (aged 25) 0 0 0 0
Corniel Els Hooker (1994-01-19)19 January 1994 (aged 25) 0 0 0 0
Stedman Gans Centre (1997-03-19)19 March 1997 (aged 21) 0 0 0 0
Warrick Gelant Outside back (1995-05-20)20 May 1995 (aged 23) 34 60 34 60
Lizo Gqoboka Prop (1990-03-24)24 March 1990 (aged 28) 37 10 37 10
Johan Grobbelaar Hooker (1997-12-30)30 December 1997 (aged 21) 1 0 1 0
Cornal Hendricks Wing (1988-04-18)18 April 1988 (aged 30) 27 55 0 0
Wiehahn Herbst Prop (1988-07-05)5 July 1988 (aged 30) 40 0 0 0
Travis Ismaiel Outside back (1992-06-02)2 June 1992 (aged 26) 39 50 39 50
JT Jackson Centre (1996-07-10)10 July 1996 (aged 22) 1 0 1 0
Jason Jenkins Lock (1995-12-02)2 December 1995 (aged 23) 40 35 40 35
Jannes Kirsten Loose forward (1993-12-01)1 December 1993 (aged 25) 31 10 31 10
Johnny Kôtze Centre (1993-01-24)24 January 1993 (aged 26) 34 40 15 35
Jesse Kriel Centre (1994-02-15)15 February 1994 (aged 25) 61 75 61 75
Manie Libbok Fly-half (1997-07-15)15 July 1997 (aged 21) 8 13 8 13
Hanro Liebenberg Loose forward (1995-10-10)10 October 1995 (aged 23) 28 15 28 15
Madot Mabokela Prop (1996-07-15)15 July 1996 (aged 22) 0 0 0 0
Theo Maree Scrum-half (1995-03-02)2 March 1995 (aged 23) 0 0 0 0
Edgar Marutlulle Hooker (1987-12-20)20 December 1987 (aged 31) 33 20 8 0
Simphiwe Matanzima Prop (1997-08-18)18 August 1997 (aged 21) 0 0 0 0
Duncan Matthews Outside back (1994-02-24)24 February 1994 (aged 24) 8 15 8 15
Nqoba Mxoli Prop (1992-05-28)28 May 1992 (aged 26) 5 0 5 0
Trevor Nyakane Prop (1989-05-04)4 May 1989 (aged 29) 91 15 49 0
Burger Odendaal Centre (1993-04-15)15 April 1993 (aged 25) 43 15 43 15
Embrose Papier Scrum-half (1997-04-25)25 April 1997 (aged 21) 10 5 10 5
Handré Pollard Fly-half (1994-03-11)11 March 1994 (aged 24) 46 437 46 437
Divan Rossouw Outside back (1996-03-12)12 March 1996 (aged 22) 14 15 14 15
Dylan Sage Centre (1992-01-24)24 January 1992 (aged 27) 0 0 0 0
Paul Schoeman Loose forward (1992-12-19)19 December 1992 (aged 26) 24 35 0 0
Roelof Smit Loose forward (1993-01-11)11 January 1993 (aged 26) 25 15 25 15
Chris Smith Fly-half (1994-09-09)9 September 1994 (aged 24) 0 0 0 0
Eli Snyman Lock (1996-01-25)25 January 1996 (aged 23) 0 0 0 0
RG Snyman Lock (1995-01-29)29 January 1995 (aged 24) 39 10 39 10
Rosko Specman Wing (1989-04-28)28 April 1989 (aged 29) 0 0 0 0
Hendré Stassen Loose forward (1997-12-29)29 December 1997 (aged 21) 3 0 3 0
Ruan Steenkamp Loose forward (1993-02-02)2 February 1993 (aged 26) 11 0 11 0
Jade Stighling Outside back (1993-05-27)27 May 1993 (aged 25) 2 0 2 0
Muller Uys Loose forward (1998-09-02)2 September 1998 (aged 20) 0 0 0 0
Dayan van der Westhuizen Prop (1994-04-05)5 April 1994 (aged 24) 10 0 0 0
Marco van Staden Loose forward (1995-08-25)25 August 1995 (aged 23) 16 10 16 10
Conraad van Vuuren Prop (1995-09-04)4 September 1995 (aged 23) 17 5 17 5
Ivan van Zyl Scrum-half (1995-06-30)30 June 1995 (aged 23) 17 0 17 0
Jano Venter Loose forward (1994-01-08)8 January 1994 (aged 25) 0 0 0 0
Duane Vermeulen Loose forward (1986-07-03)3 July 1986 (aged 32) 109 40 0 0
Jaco Visagie Hooker (1992-07-08)8 July 1992 (aged 26) 36 5 36 5
André Warner Scrum-half (1993-09-02)2 September 1993 (aged 25) 13 15 13 15
Note: Players' ages and statistics are correct as of 15 February 2019, the date of the opening round of the competition.

Standings

2019 Super Rugby standings
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Crusaders (C) 16 11 3 2 497 257 +240 73 31 8 0 58 Quarter-finals (Conference leaders)
2 Jaguares 16 11 0 5 461 352 +109 60 38 5 2 51
3 Brumbies 16 10 0 6 430 366 +64 65 49 5 3 48
4 Hurricanes 16 12 1 3 449 362 +87 60 46 3 0 53 Quarter-finals (Wildcard)
5 Bulls 16 8 2 6 410 369 +41 42 50 3 2 41
6 Sharks 16 7 1 8 343 335 +8 40 39 3 4 37
7 Chiefs 16 7 2 7 451 465 −14 63 59 2 2 36
8 Highlanders 16 6 3 7 441 392 +49 60 53 2 4 36
9 Lions 16 8 0 8 401 478 −77 53 64 2 1 35
10 Stormers 16 7 1 8 344 366 −22 34 46 1 4 35
11 Rebels 16 7 0 9 393 465 −72 56 61 3 3 34
12 Waratahs 16 6 0 10 367 415 −48 46 54 0 6 30
13 Blues 16 5 1 10 347 369 −22 45 47 2 6 30
14 Reds 16 6 0 10 385 438 −53 50 59 1 3 28
15 Sunwolves 16 2 0 14 294 584 −290 34 85 0 4 12
Source: Super Rugby


Round-by-round

The table below shows the Bulls' progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position:

Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18 QF SF Final
Opposition STO JAG LIO SHA Bye CHI SHA JAG RED Bye STO WAR CRU REB BRU BLU HIG LIO
Cumulative Points
Position (overall)
Position (SA Conf.)
Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

The Bulls played the following matches during the 2019 Super Rugby season:[4][5]


16 February 2019 Bulls 40–3 Stormers Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
17:35 Try: Rosko Specman  4'19'
Johnny Kôtze  24'
Jesse Kriel  45'
Con: Handré Pollard  5', 20', 25', 46'
Pen: Handré Pollard  51', 55', 70', 77'
Scoreboard[6] Pen: SP Marais  10' Referee: Jaco Peyper


23 February 2019 Jaguares 27–12 Bulls José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires  
23:40 Try: Matías Orlando  17'
Rodrigo Bruni  64'
Bautista Delguy  72'
Con: Joaquín Díaz Bonilla  18', 65', 73'
Pen: Joaquín Díaz Bonilla  48', 67'
Scoreboard[7] Pen: Handré Pollard  24', 45', 54', 60' Referee: Brendon Pickerill


2 March 2019 Lions 12–30 Bulls Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg  
15:05 Try: Carlü Sadie  47'
Dylan Smith  65'
Con: Elton Jantjies  66'
Scoreboard[8] Try: Duane Vermeulen  29'
Warrick Gelant  74'
Con: Handré Pollard  76'
Pen: Handré Pollard  14', 27', 37', 43', 58', 62'
Referee: Paul Williams


9 March 2019 Bulls 37–14 Sharks Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
17:15 Try: Jesse Kriel  19'
Rosko Specman  43'80'
Con: Handré Pollard  21', 80'
Pen: Handré Pollard  3', 9', 29', 35', 52'
Drop: Handré Pollard  78'
Scoreboard[9] Try: Jeremy Ward  41'
Dan du Preez  55'
Con: Robert du Preez  42', 55'
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen


23 March 2019 Bulls 20–56 Chiefs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
15:05 Try: Jesse Kriel  63'
Burger Odendaal  78'
Con: Handré Pollard  64', 78'
Pen: Handré Pollard  15', 34'
Scoreboard[10] Try: Solomon Alaimalo  25'80'
Alex Nankivell  31'60'
Brodie Retallick  40'41'
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi  73'
Con: Damian McKenzie  26', 32', 40', 43', 61', 74'
Pen: Damian McKenzie  11', 70', 76'
Referee: AJ Jacobs


30 March 2019 Sharks 16–19 Bulls Jonsson Kings Park, Durban  
15:05 Try: Dan du Preez  40'
André Esterhuizen  71'
Pen: Robert du Preez  5', 61'
Scoreboard[11] Try: Jesse Kriel  52'
Con: Handré Pollard  52'
Pen: Handré Pollard  2', 28', 67', 79'
Referee: Mike Fraser


6 April 2019 Bulls 20–22 Jaguares Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
15:05 Try: Jade Stighling  43'
Pen: Manie Libbok  7', 16', 24', 53', 60'
Scoreboard[12] Try: Pablo Matera  26'
Domingo Miotti  72'75'
Con: Santiago González Iglesias  28'
Domingo Miotti  74'
Pen: Santiago González Iglesias  51'
Referee: Brendon Pickerill


13 April 2019 Bulls 32–17 Reds Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
17:15 Try: Lizo Gqoboka  4'
Marco van Staden  28'
Handré Pollard  41'
Hanro Liebenberg  60'
Jade Stighling  64'
Con: Handré Pollard  42', 61'
Pen: Handré Pollard  14'
Scoreboard[13] Try: Samu Kerevi  57'69'
Con: Bryce Hegarty  59', 69'
Pen: Bryce Hegarty  1'
Referee: Glen Jackson


27 April 2019 Stormers 24–23 Bulls DHL Newlands, Cape Town  
15:05 Try: Sergeal Petersen  12'
Seabelo Senatla  28'
Herschel Jantjies  59'
Con: Jean-Luc du Plessis  14', 29'
Joshua Stander  60'
Pen: Joshua Stander  56'
Scoreboard[14] Try: Ivan van Zyl  42'
Manie Libbok  80'
Con: Handré Pollard  43', 80'
Pen: Handré Pollard  22', 37', 40'
Referee: Glen Jackson


4 May 2019 Bulls 28–21 Waratahs Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
15:05 Try: Warrick Gelant  9'
Duane Vermeulen  17'
Simphiwe Matanzima  70'
Con: Handré Pollard  10', 71'
Pen: Handré Pollard  7', 25', 42'
Scoreboard[15] Try: Nick Phipps  11'
Kurtley Beale  51'
Curtis Rona  66'
Con: Bernard Foley  12', 52', 68'
Referee: Jaco Peyper


10 May 2019 Bulls 13–45 Crusaders Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
19:10 Try: Burger Odendaal  56'
Con: Handré Pollard  56'
Pen: Handré Pollard  18', 28'
Scoreboard[16] Try: Richie Mo'unga  14'21'
Mitchell Dunshea  30'
Sevu Reece  36'47'66'
Scott Barrett  74'
Con: Richie Mo'unga  14', 22', 37', 48', 67'
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge


17 May 2019 Rebels 17–32 Bulls AAMI Park, Melbourne  
11:45 Try: Marika Koroibete  8'42'
Will Genia  27'
Con: Quade Cooper  9'
Scoreboard[17] Try: Cornal Hendricks  11'
Handré Pollard  17'
Burger Odendaal  59'
Rosko Specman  69'
Con: Handré Pollard  12', 18', 60'
Pen: Handré Pollard  40', 74'
Referee: Federico Anselmi


24 May 2019 Brumbies 22–10 Bulls GIO Stadium, Canberra  
11:45 Try: Tevita Kuridrani  4'38'56'
Irae Simone  44'
Con: Christian Lealiifano  39'
Scoreboard[18] Try: Hanro Liebenberg  18'
Con: Manie Libbok  20'
Pen: Manie Libbok  2'
Referee: Jaco Peyper


31 May 2019 Blues 22–22 Bulls Eden Park, Auckland  
9:35 Try: Ofa Tu'ungafasi  24'
Scott Scrafton  46'
Akira Ioane  63'
Con: Harry Plummer  25', 64'
Pen: Harry Plummer  15'
Scoreboard[19] Try: Hanro Liebenberg  18'
Cornal Hendricks  52'
Manie Libbok  75'
Con: Manie Libbok  54', 76'
Pen: Manie Libbok  8'
Referee: Mike Fraser


7 June 2019 Highlanders 24–24 Bulls Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin  
9:35 Try: Josh McKay  12'34'
Waisake Naholo  22'54'
Con: Josh Ioane  13', 35'
Scoreboard[20] Try: Divan Rossouw  28'
Jason Jenkins  37'
Jaco Visagie  74'
Con: Handré Pollard  29', 38', 75'
Pen: Handré Pollard  59'
Referee: Angus Gardner


15 June 2019 Bulls 48–27 Lions Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria  
17:15 Try: Hanro Liebenberg  4'
Marco van Staden  11'
Lizo Gqoboka  15'
Burger Odendaal  19'
Cornal Hendricks  60'
Handré Pollard  65'
Manie Libbok  71'
Con: Handré Pollard  4', 12', 16', 20', 66'
Pen: Handré Pollard  25'
Scoreboard[21] Try: Hacjivah Dayimani  1'
Cyle Brink  56'
Con: Elton Jantjies  2'
Pen: Elton Jantjies  9', 29', 37', 43'
Drop: Andries Coetzee  14'
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen


Quarter-final 22 June 2019 Hurricanes 35–28 Bulls Westpac Stadium, Wellington  
9:35 Try: TJ Perenara  17'
Ben Lam  23'
Salesi Rayasi  28'43'
Con: Beauden Barrett  19', 24', 29'
Pen: Beauden Barrett  11'
Jordie Barrett  56', 64'
Scoreboard[22] Try: Warrick Gelant  13'
Cornal Hendricks  34'58'
penalty try  51'
Con: Handré Pollard  14', 35', 59'
Referee: Nic Berry

Player statistics

The Super Rugby appearance record for players that represented the Bulls in 2019 is as follows:

2019 Bulls player statistics
Player name STO JAG LIO SHA CHI SHA JAG RED STO WAR CRU REB BRU BLU HIG LIO QF SF F App Try Con Pen DG Pts
Lizo Gqoboka 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 17 2 0 0 0 10
Schalk Brits 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 11 0 0 0 0 0
Trevor Nyakane 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 17 0 0 0 0 0
Jason Jenkins 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 12 1 0 0 0 5
Lood de Jager 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 0
Ruan Steenkamp 6 6 6 6 6 6 20 6 20 20 10 0 0 0 0 0
Hanro Liebenberg 7 8 7 4 4 7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 16 4 0 0 0 20
Duane Vermeulen 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 14 2 0 0 0 10
Embrose Papier 9 9 9 21 21 9 9 21 21 21 21 21 9 13 0 0 0 0 0
Handré Pollard 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 14 3 31 38 1 194
Rosko Specman 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 5 0 0 0 25
Burger Odendaal 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 4 0 0 0 20
Jesse Kriel 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 9 4 0 0 0 20
Johnny Kôtze 14 23 14 14 11 12 13 13 13 13 11 13 12 13 1 0 0 0 5
Warrick Gelant 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 12 3 0 0 0 15
Corniel Els 16 16 16 16 16 16 2 16 8 0 0 0 0 0
Simphiwe Matanzima 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 1 0 0 0 5
Dayan van der Westhuizen 18 18 18 18 18 5 0 0 0 0 0
Eli Snyman 19 19 5 19 5 5 19 7 0 0 0 0 0
Thembelani Bholi 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 8 0 0 0 0 0
Ivan van Zyl 21 21 21 9 9 21 21 9 9 9 9 21 21 21 14 1 0 0 0 5
Manie Libbok 22 22 22 22 22 10 22 22 22 22 22 10 10 22 22 22 9 3 3 7 0 42
Dylan Sage 23 23 12 12 23 13 13 23 13 9 0 0 0 0 0
Cornal Hendricks 14 14 14 14 14 23 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 5 0 0 0 25
Chris Smith 22 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jannes Kirsten 19 6 7 19 7 4 4 4 7 19 19 19 19 4 19 15 0 0 0 0 0
Tim Agaba 20 7 20 20 20 4 0 0 0 0 0
Divan Rossouw 23 23 15 15 15 23 23 23 15 23 23 23 15 23 23 13 1 0 0 0 5
Paul Schoeman 19 8 20 20 20 6 6 8 8 0 0 0 0 0
Conraad van Vuuren 18 18 2 0 0 0 0 0
Jade Stighling 11 11 14 3 2 0 0 0 10
Jaco Visagie 16 2 2 2 16 16 16 16 16 2 2 11 1 0 0 0 5
JT Jackson 22 22 22 23 2 0 0 0 0 0
RG Snyman 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 10 0 0 0 0 0
Marco van Staden 6 6 6 6 20 20 6 8 6 6 10 2 0 0 0 10
Wiehahn Herbst 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 10 0 0 0 0 0
Roelof Smit 20 1 0 0 0 0 0
Johan Grobbelaar 16 16 20 16 16 4 0 0 0 0 0
André Warner 21 9 9 9 21 9 9 7 0 0 0 0 0
penalty try 1 7
Total 17 46 34 45 1 438

(c) denotes the team captain. For each match, the player's squad number is shown. Starting players are numbered 1 to 15, while the replacements are numbered 16 to 23. If a replacement made an appearance in the match, it is indicated by . "App" refers to the number of appearances made by the player, "Try" to the number of tries scored by the player, "Con" to the number of conversions kicked, "Pen" to the number of penalties kicked, "DG" to the number of drop goals kicked and "Pts" refer to the total number of points scored by the player.

See also

References

  1. ^ "#BullsFamily confirm Vodacom Super Rugby coaching staff" (Press release). Bulls. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Vermeulen, Specman and Hendricks amongst new faces in Vodacom Bulls wider training squad" (Press release). Bulls. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. ^ "#BullsFamily appoint new CEO". Bulls. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. ^ "2019 Super Rugby Draw Released" (Press release). SANZAAR. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  5. ^ "180611 GT 2019 Super Rugby Draw - Match Days and Times - Final Master" (PDF). SANZAAR. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Bulls vs Stormers". SuperSport. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Jaguares vs Bulls". SuperSport. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Lions vs Bulls". SuperSport. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Bulls vs Sharks". SuperSport. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Bulls vs Chiefs". SuperSport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Sharks vs Bulls". SuperSport. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Bulls vs Jaguares". SuperSport. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Match 60, Pool Stage". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Stormers vs Bulls". SuperSport. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Bulls vs Waratahs". SuperSport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Bulls vs Crusaders". SuperSport. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Rebels vs Bulls". SuperSport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Brumbies vs Bulls". SuperSport. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  19. ^ "Blues vs Bulls". SuperSport. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Highlanders vs Bulls". SuperSport. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Bulls vs Lions". SuperSport. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Hurricanes vs Bulls". SuperSport. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.