Bulls continue to build squad with eye on crowns and entertaining rugby

The coming United Rugby Championship (URC) season promises to be an exciting campaign for the Bulls as the Pretoria-based franchise continues to make bold signings.

The Jake White-coached Bulls have confirmed the capture of Springbok fullback Willie le Roux, who has signed a three-year deal.

Le Roux’s announcement came soon after the Bulls confirmed another big signing of former Bok 2019 World Cup-winning hooker Akker van der Merwe, also on a three-year deal.

Le Roux has been playing his rugby in Japan for Toyota Verblitz since 2019. The 33-year-old will join the Pretoria outfit at the end of this year’s World Cup in France.

Van der Merwe, 32, will join the Bulls from English Premiership side Sale Sharks, where he has been playing since 2019. Before his big move to England, the “Raging Warthog” was contracted to the Durban-based Sharks.

The Bulls have also signed two players, Khutha Mchunu and Mpilo Gumede, from the Sharks, plus Sebastian de Klerk, Sergeal Petersen, Jaco van der Walt, Henry Immelman, Jannes Kirsten and Wilco Louw.

They are beefing up their squad with the intention of conquering the URC while also pushing hard in the Champions Cup.

After finishing as runners-up in the URC in 2022, the Bulls regressed in the past competition where they were knocked out of the quarterfinals by the Stormers.

The Bulls have not enjoyed much trophy success since winning the Currie Cup back-to-back in the 2020-21 and 2021 seasons, beating the Sharks in the final on both occasions.

Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone hopes the signing of Le Roux and Van der Merwe will not only help them win titles but do so while playing strong and entertaining rugby.   

“Willie is a world-class player with so much experience behind him,” Rathbone said.

“Our stable is sure to benefit from having a player with more than 83 caps for his national side. Moreover, we believe his wealth of experience will add more stability to our backline.

“We are continuing with our ambitions of putting together a squad that can help us not only challenge but go for the crowns while playing some entertaining rugby, and he is a player who falls into classification. We are all confident his versatility will be appreciated by both the young and the wise.

“We are thrilled to have Akker join us and a player of his skill and calibre will be a wonderful addition for our franchise as we continue evolving and set our eyes on success across the competitions.

“He is also a well-travelled player who has continuously done well wherever he has played and that speaks of a resilient character that will be of great help to our younger players too. I know he is a player who is keen to give as much as he can, and his know-how will be invaluable for us.” 

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