Cape Town — The Bulls were down and out after the first six matches of the United Rugby Championship, with just a single win in 2021.
But now they will take on the Stormers in Saturday’s final at Cape Town Stadium, and coach Jake White will be hoping that his team have one more big performance in them after beating Leinster 27-26 in Dublin.
We are profiling the entire Bulls starting XV that have got them to the title decider and are likely to face the Stormers, and today we look at the two centres…
Inside centre: Harold Vorster
Having been a mainstay of the Lions midfield for many years — which included three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018 — Vorster was brought to the Bulls by Jake White in 2021 after a stint in Japan.
He still does what he did for Johan Ackermann’s Lions side: strong ball-carrier, lethal defender and a good organiser in the backline.
But what has been most pleasing about his performances this season is his variety of skills on attack. Vorster has added a classy little offload in the tackle to his game, and that makes him so much more effective.
Most defences would expect him to try and bulldoze his way through tackles all the time — which he does with regularity anyway — but when he gets his pass away, it opens up gaps for his teammates in the wider channels.
The 28-year-old also has a solid kicking boot that can relieve the pressure inside his own half, while he has a really effective grubber kick that helps Bulls wings Madosh Tambwe and Canan Moodie to chase.
Vorster’s one-on-one battle with Stormers No 12 Damian Willemse is set to be one of the highlights of the URC final. Their playing styles couldn’t be more different — Willemse is the dashing young star who can sidestep you inside a telephone booth, is never scared to get physical on attack and defence, and also looks for the offload in the tackle.
Vorster will test Willemse’s renowned defence with his physical attributes, and he can also get past his direct opponent with a few kicks, either in the air or on the ground.
Outside centre: Cornal Hendricks
It has been an incredible comeback story for Cornal Hendricks at Loftus Versfeld. He was at the top of the tree in 2014, when he was the starting right wing for the Springboks — where the highlight was a superb touchdown against the All Blacks in Wellington.
That was the crowning glory after a long slog to the Test arena. Hendricks was an outside centre for Boland and pushing for a Stormers spot, but was ignored by then-coach Allister Coetzee, which saw him move to the sevens arena with the Blitzboks.
That resulted in the Cheetahs contracting him in 2014, and he was so good that Heyneke Meyer called him up to the Bok squad.
But then disaster struck in late 2015, when a heart condition saw him miss out on the World Cup. He then signed for the Stormers, but never got onto the pitch for the Cape side due to the health issue.
Then followed a few years out of the game, and even a move to a French club fell through.
But eventually, then-Bulls coach Pote Human took a chance on Hendricks and brought him to Loftus in 2019. The real turnaround, though, came when Jake White moved him to inside centre in 2020, and he has flourished since.
Hendricks’ pace may not be what it was in 2014, but his footwork is exceptional, and he still has enough speed at 34 to get into a half-gap and get an offload away.
He is also a determined defender and doesn’t let anyone go past him.
Ruhan Nel is his direct opponent for the Stormers, and the former Blitzbok star will keep Hendricks busy with his big frame and classy running lines.
But Hendricks will look to provide that spark for his outside backs as well.
IOL Sport