Limpopo Blue Bulls

Limpopo Blue Bulls
Union Blue Bulls Rugby Union
Region Limpopo, South Africa
Ground(s) Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane (Capacity: 41,733)
Coach(es) André Eloff
League(s) Vodacom Cup
2014 8th (North Section)
Current season

Limpopo Blue Bulls (known as the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that are part of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are therefore represented by the Blue Bulls in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments. They play out of Polokwane at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and draw players from the entire Limpopo province in South Africa. Their youth teams participate in competitions such as the Craven Week and Grant Khomo Week.

History

They played as an independent team in the Vodacom Cup, starting in the 2013 season.[1]

It was a very disappointing season, with the Limpopo Blue Bulls breaking several unwanted records, including the biggest ever first class loss recorded in South African rugby history, when they lost 161–3 to the Golden Lions on 27 April 2013.[2] They also conceded 100 points or more in their matches against the Leopards (113–3),[3] Griquas (124–5),[4] Pumas (154–0)[5] and Blue Bulls (110–0).[6]

They slightly improved in their second season in the competition, conceding nearly 200 points less in their seven matches. However, they still lost all of their matches and conceded 100 points or more in two of their matches — against the Golden Lions[7] and against their parent union side, the Blue Bulls.[8]

The Limpopo Blue Bulls took a different approach in the build-up to the 2015 Vodacom Cup. In 2013 and 2014, they selected the best players from across the Limpopo province – excluding the players of the best club in the region, Noordelikes, who compete in the SARU Community Cup at the same time as the Vodacom Cup competition – they decided to train in Pretoria and also employ the help of some club players from the Blue Bulls region, most notably Oostelike Eagles, who contributed 17 players to their 2015 training squad.[9]

Records

Limpopo Blue Bulls records:

Team Match Records
Record Opposition Venue Season
Biggest win: N/A N/A N/A N/A
Heaviest defeat: Golden Lions Alberton Rugby Club 2013 3–161
Highest score: Griffons North West Stadium, Welkom 2015 28
Most points conceded: Golden Lions Alberton Rugby Club 2013 161
Most tries: Griffons North West Stadium, Welkom 2015 3
Player Match Records
Record Player Opposition Venue Season
Most points by a player: Anton Beswick Griffons North West Stadium, Welkom 2015 13
Most tries by a player: Various Various Various Various 1
Team Season Records
Record Matches Season
Most team points: in 5 matches 2015 75
Most team tries: in 5 matches 2015 7
Player Season Records
Record Player Season
Most points by a player: Anton Beswick 2015 40
Most tries by a player: Niyaas Johnson 2014 2
Player Career Records
Record Player Seasons
Most appearances: Johan Coetzer 2013–14 13
Most points: Anton Beswick 2015 40
Most tries: Niyaas Johnson 2014 2

Vodacom Cup

The Limpopo Blue Bulls' all-time record in the Vodacom Cup since their entry into the competition in 2013 is:

Limpopo Blue Bulls' Vodacom Cup record
Season Played Won Drawn Lost Pts For Pts Ag Pts Diff Tries For Tries Ag Log Pts
2013 7 0 0 7 32 781 −749 3 119 0
2014 7 0 0 7 47 580 −533 6 90 0
2015 5 0 0 5 75 169 −94 7 25 1
Overall 19 0 0 19 154 1528 −1374 16 234 1

Current squad

The following players were included in the Limpopo Blue Bulls squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup:[10]

Props

  • South Africa Heinrich Els
  • South Africa CJ Greeff
  • South Africa Pieter Kilian
  • South Africa Anton Krynauw
  • South Africa Peet Vorster

Hookers

Locks

  • South Africa Isak Deetlefs
  • South Africa Marnus Erasmus
  • South Africa Daniel Hart
  • South Africa Ethan Louw
  • South Africa Dwane Morrison
  • South Africa Tinus van Wyk
  

Loose Forwards

  • South Africa Derek Botha
  • South Africa Willem Engelbrecht
  • South Africa Pieter Matthews
  • South Africa Mandla Mdaka
  • South Africa De Wet Meyer
  • South Africa Dwayne Pienaar
  • South Africa Werner Serfontein

Scrum-halves

  • South Africa Cornelius Rautenbach
  • South Africa Nico Smuts

Fly-halves

  • South Africa Anton Beswick
  • South Africa Koos Kotzé
  

Centres

  • South Africa JP du Plessis
  • South Africa Bradley Harper
  • South Africa Sampie Hearn
  • South Africa Theunis Kruger
  • South Africa Jurgen Lochner
  • South Africa Vian Riekert
  • South Africa Dries Truter

Wingers

  • South Africa Dean Gordon
  • South Africa Fanie Raseroka

Fullbacks

  • South Africa Kyran Odendaal
  • South Africa Morné van den Berg
  • South Africa Sheldon van den Berg
  • South Africa Dean van Heteren

References

  1. ↑ "Limpopo to play in Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "MTN Golden Lions vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Leopards XV vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls vs GWK Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Steval Pumas vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Match Breakdown: Vodacom Blue Bulls vs Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Oostelikes-Eagles hersturktureer" (in Afrikaans). Pretoria East Rekord. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "2015 Limpopo Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup season". Retrieved 18 March 2015.