Aplon: You don’t come to the Bulls just to compete, you aim to win
GIO Aplon turned 38 on Tuesday, and he joked that his new Bulls teammates brought out a “wheelchair” for him at Loftus Versfeld.
But as crazy as it seems that a full-back can still play at a high level at that age, when it comes to Aplon, it is even crazier that he is doing it in the lightblue colours of the Pretoria side rather than his beloved Stormers in Cape Town.
The man with the twinkle toes from Hawston in the Western Cape used to give the Bulls defence the run-around when wearing a Stormers or Western Province jersey, but ahead of tonight’s Super Rugby Unlocked clash against Griquas (7pm kickoff), he is taking the big occasion in his usual calm stride.
“I’m very excited to be at the Bulls. It’s a union with a rich tradition, and the coaching staff we have has been tremendous, as well as the playing staff. It’s an honour for me to still play professional rugby at my age, and then a massive honour to play for the Bulls. It’s as exciting as I can get for a 38-year-old, but I’m really looking forward to putting that jersey over my head,” Aplon said this week.
“For us, it’s always about getting that Bulls name up there again. You don’t come to the Bulls to just compete – you come here to win the competition, and we can’t go away from that.”
The Bulls had a forgettable Super Rugby season before the enforced Covid-19 break, losing five out of six matches, which saw head coach Pote Human make way for Jake White.
The former Springbok World Cup-winning coach guided the Bulls to a 49-28 victory over the Sharks in the Superfan Saturday game a fortnight ago.
White’s Bulls mixed things up by spreading the ball wide and bringing the outside backs into play, while also employing a hot stepper in Cornal Hendricks at inside centre.
Such an adventurous style will suit Aplon to a tee. “We really enjoy the game plan. We want to stay unpredictable and want to find ways to win. Whether it’s going to be kicking or running will depend on the day. So, we are really excited about what’s happening.”
Griquas tasted victory in the Currie Cup at Loftus Versfeld last year. Coach Scott Mathie wants to build on his team’s 2019 campaign, which saw them reach the semi-finals for the first time in 21 years under then-head coach Brent Janse van Rensburg, with Mathie as his assistant.
Teams For Loftus Versfeld
Bulls: 15 Gio Aplon 14 Travis
Ismaiel 13 Stedman Gans 12 Cornal Hendricks 11 David Kriel 10 Morné Steyn 9 Ivan van Zyl 8 Tim Agaba 7 Arno Botha (captain), 6 Marco van Staden 5 Ruan Nortje 4 Jason Jenkins 3 Trevor Nyakane 2 Corniel Els 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar 17
Lizo Gqoboka 18 Mornay Smith 19 Sintu Manjezi 20 Elrigh Louw 21 Embrose Papier 22 Chris Smith 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren.
Griquas: 15 Anthony Volminck 14 Daniel Kasende 13 Harlon Klaasen 12 André Swarts 11 James Verity-amm 10 George Whitehead (captain) 9 Zak Burger 8 Niell Jordaan 7 Stefan Willemse 6
Carl Els 5 Victor Sekekete 4 Ian Groenewald 3 John-roy Jenkinson 2 HJ Luus 1 Mox Mxoli.
Bench (from): 16 Alandré van Rooyen 17 Bandisa Ndlovu 18
Madot Mabokela 19 Adré Smith 20 Zandre Jordaan 21 Gideon van der Merwe 22 Ashlon Davids 23 Berton Klaasen 24 Mzwanele Zito 25 Johan Momsen 26 Bjorn Basson.