It has taken a concerted team effort for the Blue Bulls to remain one of the standout teams in the Currie Cup this season and to reach their first final in the domestic competition in seven years. But throughout the season there have been some standout individual performances that could prove crucial for the Pretoria side when they take on the Free State Cheetahs in the final at Free State Stadium on Saturday.Here are three Bulls players who will be crucial to the side’s ambitions of ending the team’s trophy drought:1 - Lizo Gqoboka‚ 26‚ loosehead propIt is hard to believe that the Bulls’ loosehead‚ who has been one of the side’s consistent performers since their Super Rugby campaign‚ only started playing rugby at the age of 19 after some serious convincing from a friend while a student in Durban.Very few would enjoy the same success that Gqoboka has enjoyed since turning professional only in 2011 after successful trials at the Eastern Province Kings‚ where he began with their under-21 side.In a short period‚ under the tutelage of former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson‚ the Ntabankulu-born Gqoboka mastered a technical position in the front row and has become one of the country’s highly rated loose-head props. Having to battle it out for a starting berth with an equally talented Pierre Schoeman could not have made the decision easy for coach Nollis Marais to pick his starting No1.With scrums set to be a crucial part of the final‚ Gqoboka could prove invaluable in the set pieces and with his powerful runs in the loose.2 - Roelof Smit‚ 23‚ openside flankWhen going to war one needs their toughest soldiers in the front-lines of their army. After captain Arno Botha‚ Smit’s name is almost a certainty to have been the first that Marais put down when he drafted his team for the final.There are few players who emerged in this year’s Currie Cup who are as hard‚ as consistent and as influential the Bulls No6.In the words of the Bulls coach: “At the moment‚ Roelof Smit is the only open-sider in South Africa who plays to the ball.” While some may think that the role of a fetcher is no longer as crucial as it was in the past‚ Smit has come out to prove that notion as incorrect.The Queenstown-born flanker is undoubtedly the best fetcher in the country and will prove to be invaluable in the breakdown battle on Saturday.So central is the player to the Bulls’ cause that Marais refused to substitute him in the semifinal against Western Province last weekend despite a hamstring strain.3 - Jamba Ulengo‚ 26‚ wingWhat Nollis Marais has stressed in the build-up to the final is that there is no space for grudges in a match as important as the Currie Cup final.However‚ at the back of Ulengo’s mind he will likely be hoping to once again prove what a grave error the Cheetahs made when they let him go before he joined the Bulls in 2014.The winger has grown in confidence‚ stature and reputation since joining the Pretoria side to be regarded as one of the best wingers in SA currently. He has a nose for scoring tries‚ and at crucial times too. He is big‚ strong‚ fast‚ agile and intelligent and will be keeping the Cheetahs’ defence on their toes like he has done to many opposition teams over the past two seasons.After finishing as the Currie Cup’s top try-scorer last season‚ he will be hoping to repeat the same feat again this season – a position he currently holds with five other players who have scored seven times this season‚ all of whom are not playing in the final.– TMG Sport..