Bulls bruiser relishing his homecoming

07/05/2024 15:29

Jannes Kirsten is delighted to be back at Loftus Versfeld, as the utility forward focuses on making a big impact for the Vodacom Bulls at the business end of the season.

The seasoned campaigner made his long-awaited debut in the Vodacom URC during a resounding victory against Ospreys on the Highveld two weeks ago.

Kirsten, who had been sidelined by injury since signing from the Exeter Chiefs this season, featured off the bench in the clash and is set to face the Glasgow Warriors in Pretoria when the URC resumes this week.

He is no stranger to Loftus, having previously made his mark in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup and speaking in a Bulls conference on Tuesday, the 30-year-old Kirsten addressed his return and role for Jake White's playoff-chasing charges.

"It wasn’t the best start for me coming back; pre-season went well and then I got injured. There was a lot of anticipation [from my side] and to be honest, it was a great relief [to play again]," he told reporters.

"It was good to be back at Loftus, it felt familiar but also different. It's one of the reasons I came back, to be back home. I was born in Pretoria, I was raised here – Loftus feels like home.

"A bit stressed before the game, as you should, it keeps you sharp. But it was a good game to come back to; I played around 20 minutes and everything felt good."

"The altitude… growing up here it didn't bother me but when I came back you do feel it, I felt it during the game. But everything went well and it was just good to play again," Kirsten added.

"It's a difficult time to come back, towards the end of the season, and the guys have been playing really well but hopefully I can contribute in whichever way I can."

With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Bulls are in fourth place on the overall log with 51 points, behind leaders Glasgow (58). Under the stewardship of former Cheetahs boss Franco Smith, the Scottish outfit have 12 wins in the 2023-24 campaign, and Kirsten expects a real challenge for The Herd on Saturday.

"They do stretch you on defence; what they do well is target the areas of space and create two sides of attack. I think communication is going to be very important during this game, looking up and seeing what's in front of you because that's what they do, to look and see where the space is," he said.

"It's important for us to stay in the system and implement what we've trained this week, by being balanced on defence. We obviously like to have a little bit of line speed and it's going to be a good challenge trying to shut them down.

"We can see in the way they attack and their set piece there is a lot of South African influence, but the message will be the same: it's going to be a battle in the set piece, and their maul is best in the competition so far.

"We're also going to look at exposing them on attack but it's going to come down to who is going to control the tempo and stay in control of the ball and the game they want to play. It's going to be a good one."

Photo: Harry Trump/Getty Images

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