Simelane aims to be a Bok ‘sooner rather than later’ at Bulls
WANDISILE Simelane is one of the hottest young talents in South African rugby.
He was one of the stars in junior rugby, especially for the SA Under-20s in 2018, where he was the joint-top try-scorer at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in France with six touchdowns.
While the Junior Boks finished third after losing to England in the semi-finals and beating New Zealand in the third-place play-off, the squad has produced just one Test player so far in the shape of captain Salmaan Moerat.
Simelane, 24, would’ve hoped to have featured for the Boks by now. He was part of the wider 46-man squad for the British and Irish Lions series last year, but was part of the group of 10 who were eventually cut.
He again had his moments for the Lions in the United Rugby Championship, but wasn’t able to play his way back into the national set-up.
Now the former Jeppe High School for Boys stand-out hopes that his move to the Bulls will help him further his rugby journey, where he will team up with ex-jeppe headmaster and rugby boss Jake White.
“Part of my individual goals is to become a Springbok sooner rather than later. Every rugby player aspires to play for their country … it is no different for me,” Simelane told the Bulls website this week.
“I will strive to do my best in the blue jersey, and can only hope that it will be enough to open doors for me to take my career a step further.
“Coach Jake is widely respected, given all that he has achieved as a world-class coach. So, I have no doubts that there is so much knowledge I can gain from a coach of his stature.
“I did not even think twice when the opportunity to work under him came about. I can only become a better player.”
Simelane faces a true test of his ability to make the Bulls team in the first place. Cornal Hendricks is entrenched in the No 13 jersey in a midfield partnership with Harold Vorster, while Lionel Mapoe and Stedman Gans are the other outside centre options.
With the Bulls operating across three competitions this season – the European Champions Cup, United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup – there should be ample opportunity for Simelane to find his feet at Loftus Versfeld.
But if he wants to make a late bid for the Bok World Cup squad next year, he would want to be the starting No 13 for the Bulls in the Champions Cup and URC.
“It’s been an awesome start for me at the Vodacom Bulls. The guys have really welcomed and embraced me into the team,” Simelane said about his first few weeks in Pretoria.
“We are all working hard, challenging each other – it’s really refreshing to witness. Andre (Volsteedt, Bulls strength and conditioning coach) has been pushing us really hard, and we have no doubt that the results will only be positive once we get into the swing of things in season.
“I think we would be under-valuing ourselves if our goal was not to win everything – the URC, Champions Cup and Currie Cup. We certainly have the drive, commitment and belief that we can be competitive in all.”