If the Bulls are looking for the secret that led to Glasgow Warriors beating them in the United Rugby Championship final, then Sintu Manjezi may just be the man to provide it.
The 29-year-old utility forward rejoined the Pretoria side a few weeks ago from the Scottish club, who triumphed 21-16 against all odds at Loftus Versfeld on June 22. Although Manjezi didn’t feature in the title decider, he made 23 appearances across the two seasons he spent in Glasgow, and knows exactly what makes Franco Smith’s team tick.
And while Manjezi stated yesterday that the Currie Cup isn’t about “redemption” for the Bulls, they wouldn’t mind clinching the trophy to ease the pain of the URC final defeat ahead of the new season.
Coach Phiwe Nomlomo’s side has made a strong start to the Currie Cup, beating Western Province 30-25 in Cape Town and the Griffons 52-10 in Welkom, but it will be a much tougher encounter against defending champions, the Cheetahs, at Loftus Versfeld on Friday (5pm start).
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“Franco is very hard on standards, and he drives those quite well every week. He was in charge of our mauls and stuff like that, and how quickly we played. If you look at how Glasgow mauled, it was one of the game-changers for us throughout the season – being able to play in wet conditions,” Manjezi said yesterday.
“Not necessarily being able to pass the ball, but kick out into touch, get a maul try and push for the bonus point.
“Speed of play is something Franco’s had at the Cheetahs as well, and he brought it to Glasgow. The ruck speed was good.”
The maul is certainly a weapon that the Bulls can fine-tune during the Currie Cup before the next URC and Champions Cup campaigns begin, but Manjezi hopes to bring his skills to the fore as well to push for a starting spot.
Ruan Vermaak and captain Ruan Nortjé were the starting locks and Elrigh Louw the first-choice No 7 last season, while there are also other hybrid locks and flanks in the shape of Reinhardt Ludwig, Jannes Kirsten and new signing Cobus Wiese in the squad.
“(Line-out calling) is something I want to do, and I want to have it in my game – and I am able to do that,” Manjezi said. “I am coming into a new team and still need to get familiar with all the calls, so I don’t want to put too much on my plate. But as the season goes forward, I hope to get the opportunity to show that I can call at five.”
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Other than the match between the Bulls and Cheetahs on Friday, the Lions face Griquas at Ellis Park at 3pm, while the Sharks host the Pumas at 7pm. On Sunday, matchday three wraps up with the Griffons against WP (kick-off 3pm).