Bulls are Bjorn to win - Basson

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Bjorn Basson likes records, but what he really wants is a Super Rugby winners trophy.

Springbok and Bulls wing Bjorn Basson may have broken Bryan Habana’s franchise record of nine tries in a Super Rugby season with little fanfare against the Lions on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld but the diminutive speed demon from King Williams Town says he is leaving the real celebration for when he holds the Super Rugby trophy aloft.

Only two seasons into his stay at Loftus, Basson is quickly becoming a fan favourite and one lauded with legend status for his try-scoring feats after breaking Habana’s seven year record for the Bulls with his two tries on Saturday.

While Basson could have achieved the feat last year after coming agonisingly close with a tally of nine tries, his electrifying pace, ability to create and score tries out of nothing will certainly weigh heavily in his team’s favour as they attempt to win the Super Rugby title away from home.

Basson, who also holds the record for the most tries scored in an Absa Currie Cup season on 21 tries while playing for Griquas in 2010, believes that there are still more tries left in him this season and it remains his hope and that of his Bulls teammates to break records including the unenviable one of never having beaten the Crusaders in Christchurch.

Basson’s record-breaking exploit could not have come at a better time for his team as they prepare for their biggest match of the season in their once-off qualifier against the seven-time champions Crusaders in their own backyard in New Zealand on Saturday.

“It is a great feeling and it is every player’s dream to have records like that. It is my goal to break records and I’m happy to be able to do it this year,” said Basson when his team departed for New Zealand on Monday.

Not too many have given the Bulls any chance of defying history and recording their maiden victory against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

But this is the way the Bulls want things to be, to enter Saturday’s play-off as underdogs and the Crusaders with all the pressure.

“I think this team really likes being the underdogs and this is how we prefer it to be. We can handle the pressure and I think we will only grow from strength to strength and we’ll do it (win) that side,” said Basson.

“It is definitely a new feeling (to be underdogs) and at the beginning of the year people didn’t think we really had a chance and now we have proved them wrong. I just hope that now we can go and prove them wrong even further,” he added.

As Basson has his eyes firmly focused on extending his try-scoring record for the Bulls, his and the team’s ultimate goal is to be the last team standing, especially with nobody giving them a chance.

“It is a goal of mine and it is every player’s dream to win a trophy. This year could be our year and that is motivation enough for me,” concluded Basson.

Bjorn Basson

Height: 1.87m

Weight: 82kg

Born: 11.02.1987 King William’s Town

Provincial points: 245 (49 tries)

Provincial debut: 2008 v Border Bulldogs

Super Rugby caps: 41 (9 Cheetahs)

Super Rugby points: 125 (25 tries)

Super Rugby debut: 2009 v Lions

Test Caps: 6

Test points: 0

Test debut: 2010 v Wales