Limpopo Blue Bulls

Limpopo Blue Bulls (known as the Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that are a sub-union of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are therefore represented by the Blue Bulls in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments. They play out of Polokwane at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and draw players from the entire Limpopo province in South Africa. Between 2013 and 2015, the Limpopo Blue Bulls played as a separate team in the Vodacom Cup competition. Despite their first team not participating in first class rugby since 2015, they still have youth teams that participate in competitions such as the Under-21 and Under-19 Provincial Championships and in the Craven Week and Grant Khomo Week tournaments.

Limpopo Blue Bulls
UnionBlue Bulls Rugby Union
RegionLimpopo, South Africa
Ground(s)Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane (Capacity: 45,500)
Coach(es)André Eloff
League(s)Vodacom Cup
20158th (North Section)

History

Far North (1968–1995)

In 1967, the Far North Rugby Union was formed. They were based in Pietersburg (now Polokwane) and participated in domestic South African competitions between 1968 and 1995, when the advent of professionalism in South African rugby union saw the number of provincial unions reduced to 14. Far North merged with Northern Transvaal to become the Blue Bulls.

Vodacom Cup (2013–2015)

They played as an independent team in the Vodacom Cup, starting in the 2013 season.[1]

It was a very disappointing season, with the Limpopo Blue Bulls breaking several unwanted records, including the biggest ever first class loss recorded in South African rugby history, when they lost 161–3 to the Golden Lions on 27 April 2013.[2] They also conceded 100 points or more in their matches against the Leopards (113–3),[3] Griquas (124–5),[4] Pumas (154–0)[5] and Blue Bulls (110–0).[6]

They slightly improved in their second season in the competition, conceding nearly 200 points less in their seven matches. However, they still lost all of their matches and conceded 100 points or more in two of their matches — against the Golden Lions[7] and against their parent union side, the Blue Bulls.[8]

The Limpopo Blue Bulls took a different approach in the build-up to the 2015 Vodacom Cup. In 2013 and 2014, they selected the best players from across the Limpopo province – excluding the players of the best club in the region, Noordelikes, who competed in the SARU Community Cup at the same time as the Vodacom Cup competition – for 2015, they decided to train in Pretoria and also employ the help of some club players from the Blue Bulls region, most notably Oostelike Eagles, who contributed 17 players to their 2015 training squad.[9] Their record in 2015 was once again much-improved; they only conceded 50 points or more in two matches – a 52–0 defeat to the Pumas[10] and an 83–13 defeat to the Blue Bulls.[11] They scored more than twice the number of points they scored in 2014 and conceded half the number of points. They also earned their first log points when they lost their match against the Welwitschias by less than seven points – going down 17–24 in Windhoek[12] – and gained their first log point for scoring four tries in a match in their final game of the season, a 27–38 defeat to the Falcons.[13]

Records

Limpopo Blue Bulls records:

Team Match Records
Record Opposition Venue Season
Biggest win:N/AN/AN/AN/A
Heaviest defeat: Golden LionsAlberton Rugby Club20133–161
Highest score: GriffonsNorth West Stadium, Welkom201528
Most points conceded: Golden LionsAlberton Rugby Club2013161
Most tries: FalconsPeter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane20154
Player Match Records
Record Player Opposition Venue Season
Most points by a player:Anton Beswick GriffonsNorth West Stadium, Welkom201513
Most tries by a player:VariousVariousVariousVarious1
Team Season Records
Record Matches Season
Most team points:in 7 matches2015115
Most team tries:in 7 matches201512
Player Season Records
Record Player Season
Most points by a player:Anton Beswick201555
Most tries by a player:Niyaas Johnson20142
Dwayne Pienaar20152
Fanie Raseroka20152
Player Career Records
Record Player Seasons
Most appearances:Barnie Boonzaaier2014–201513
Johan Coetzer2013–201413
Most points:Anton Beswick201555
Most tries:Niyaas Johnson20142
Dwayne Pienaar20152
Fanie Raseroka20152

Vodacom Cup

The Limpopo Blue Bulls' all-time record in the Vodacom Cup since their entry into the competition in 2013 is:

Limpopo Blue Bulls' Vodacom Cup record
Season Played Won Drawn Lost Pts For Pts Ag Pts Diff Tries For Tries Ag Log Pts
2013700732781−74931190
2014700747580−5336900
20157007115290−17512432
Overall2100211941651−1457212522

Current squad

The following players were included in the Limpopo Blue Bulls squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup:[14]

Props

  • Heinrich Els
  • CJ Greeff
  • Pieter Kilian
  • Anton Krynauw
  • Peet Vorster

Hookers

Locks

  • Isak Deetlefs
  • Marnus Erasmus
  • Daniel Hart
  • Ethan Louw
  • Dwane Morrison
  • Tinus van Wyk
  

Loose Forwards

  • Derek Botha
  • Willie Engelbrecht
  • Pieter Matthews
  • Mandla Mdaka
  • De Wet Meyer
  • Dwayne Pienaar
  • Werner Serfontein

Scrum-halves

  • Cornelius Rautenbach
  • Nico Smuts

Fly-halves

  • Anton Beswick
  • Koos Kotzé
  

Centres

  • JP du Plessis
  • Bradley Harper
  • Sampie Hearn
  • Theunis Kruger
  • Jurgen Lochner
  • Vian Riekert
  • Andries Truter

Wingers

  • Dean Gordon
  • Fanie Raseroka

Fullbacks

  • Kyran Odendaal
  • Morné van den Berg
  • Sheldon van den Berg
  • Dean van Heteren

References
  1. "Limpopo to play in Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – MTN Golden Lions 161-3 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards XV 113-3 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 5-124 GWK Griquas". South African Rugby Union. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Steval Pumas 154-0 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 0-110 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 0-110 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 116-0 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  9. "Oostelikes-Eagles hersturktureer" (in Afrikaans). Pretoria East Rekord. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Steval Pumas 52-0 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 83-13 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB Welwitschias 24-17 Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 27-38 Hino Valke". South African Rugby Union. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Squad – Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls : 2015 Vodacom Cup". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
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