Imminent boom or sad burial?
22 Sep 2010
RYAN VREDE wonders if Bjorn Basson will develop into a world-class wing at the Bulls or bomb like some of their recent backline recruits.
On Wednesday the Bulls announced the wing’s signing from Griquas on a two-year deal that will keep him at Loftus until October 2012.
On the surface it appears to be an excellent acquisition. Basson has the pace to trouble defences, and will improve his strength and conditioning under Basil Carzis at the Bulls, amplifying his threat.
While Francois Hougaard adequately filled the void left by Bryan Habana on the wing in 2010, Basson’s arrival offers him the opportunity to play more regularly at scrumhalf – a boon for the Bulls and Springboks.
However, whether Basson elevates his play in Pretoria and in doing so increases the potency of the side, or whether he descends into a maze of mediocrity, remains to be seen.
Undoubtedly, the Bulls hope to have purchased the V6 that was on the showroom floor in Kimberley, with ambitions of souping up their investment.
They’ll have to, because they’ve purchased too many meek 1.4s in recent years.
Topping that list is Jaco Pretorius, who, in three seasons at the Bulls, has failed to replicate the superb form he showed for the Lions in 2006 and 2007.
Zane Kirchner is another who arrived from Griquas promising much, but delivering little beyond the basics. In keeping with the motoring metaphor, he’s been like a Toyota Corolla, unfailingly reliable, but hardly a wet-your-pants ride.
Both will dangle their Super Rugby and Currie Cup medals to refute the suggestion that they have been ordinary, the former’s case further supported by his Springbok call-ups in 2009 and 2010. But both were supporting cast in those domestic triumphs, and Kirchner’s limitations were brutally exposed at Test level, an assertion supported by his subsequent axing.
Basson must buck that worrying trend, and the Bulls, through their game plan, must maximise his immense potential, lest Loftus develops a reputation for being the place talented backline players go to die.
Follow SA Rugby mag on Twitter
105 Comments
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
22 Sep 2010, 12:27 pm
A “wet your pants” ride. ha ha ha.
Let’s face it.The Bulls play Toyota Corola rugby. That is why players like Akona Ndungane, Kirschner and Bjorn Basson are perfectly suited.
There is nothing wrong with Corolla rugby. It wins trophies….
22 Sep 2010, 12:28 pm
To die like Fourie du Preez?
22 Sep 2010, 12:29 pm
Harsh to call the string of backline signings a failure when most of them made it through to the Boks with the Bulls. But Basson is quality and I think he’ll succeed
22 Sep 2010, 12:33 pm
My goodness. Talk about tenuous links…
22 Sep 2010, 12:34 pm
Basson is quality!
22 Sep 2010, 12:34 pm
Jeez Vrede, are we short on material?
Jaco has been suffering from a spate of injuries since he arrived at the Bulls and could never really settle.
Kirchner has been the form 15 with Joe from the Stormers in Super rugby.
So as far as BULLS recruitment goes where only really Jaco did not live up to the promise he showed at the Lions, it is a good move by the BULLS.
22 Sep 2010, 12:35 pm
(How you relate Bok form under different coaches and different structures to substantiate an argument is beyond me)
22 Sep 2010, 12:37 pm
I’m not convinced that the premise of this article is correct. Jaco and Zane haven’t shone, but are hardly failures. They form a very important part of the bigger picture. You can’t have 15 stars after all.
22 Sep 2010, 12:42 pm
Zane and Joe were our form 15′s yes. But that doesn’t make them great. Ordinary when compared to the really good ones.
22 Sep 2010, 12:43 pm
In keeping with the motoring metaphors, WePee have led the way in converting the Bugatti Habanero into a second hand Beetle… Farksake how ridiculous…
22 Sep 2010, 12:44 pm
Vrede is right, JacoP and old Zane offer jack – neither donkey deserved their Bok caps.
22 Sep 2010, 12:46 pm
Everything in moderation, including moderation. You okes getting your comments moderated as well…?
Was it something I said?
22 Sep 2010, 12:52 pm
This article is a little strange , there is basically zero evidence that the Bulls backline recruits failed ?? Look I am a Wp fan and love nothing more than to see the Bulls lose but one have to admire their structures and talent identification. Ryan you mention Jaco Pretorius and Kirchner as examples of recent backline recruits who failed , first off thats only 2 and hardly qualifies as a recurring weakness as you would suggest. Secondly Kirchner was one of the standout backline players for the Boks , he made his debut after playing for the Bulls so I dont see how he could count as a failure. Jaco , well jaa I agree , he has not lit up the scene so I would grant u that to an extent cos he is injury prone as well.
Now lets just take a look at their decent recruitments they made the last few seasons – Habana , no need to elaborate and Hougaard whom many regard as the next best thing in SA rugby. Thats just to mention 2 backline signings that has been extremely successful. There are more but I will leave that to the like of Tac to tear u further apart.
So jaa , I suggest you do a bit more thinking and maybe some research before you subject us to such silly opinions.
22 Sep 2010, 12:55 pm
this is going to be a sad burial i am afraid Bulls will make him bulk up he loses his speed and its early vodacom cup starts for him.Think he ll probably play a mametsa role where they keep him until they get another Gerhard vd Heever “who cant be left out of the side”
22 Sep 2010, 12:57 pm
Oh and one more thing , Kirchners being dropped by the boks means sweet effol cos the bulls dont play international rugby , the standard is slighlty lower in the CC/Super rugby vs international , not that I for one moment think he is not capable at international rugby anyway. Even then entertaining your train of thought , a player who is not picked for the boks but is a solid player non the less is more valuable to the franchise as he will be available to play for them in the international season.
Ag man , I can go on and on and on but I think u will get it , I think u need to apply your logic to the recruitment at Keo. Been all downhill since the day IG left.
22 Sep 2010, 12:58 pm
Ryan has a point, here is a question for the you okes beside Fourie how many quality backline players have the bulls produced for the Boks? and Habana is a Lions product!
22 Sep 2010, 13:00 pm
This article is the pirate part based, vice-grip for a steering wheel jikileza taxi of the journalistic world.
It shudders and swerves to its intended destination held together by nothing more than the strip wires of unsubstantiated opinion, the glue of baseless comparisons and the rusty bolts of factual distortion and non-existing patterns.
Zane Kirchner had a few good Currie Cup games behind his belt when he joined the Bulls. He has since become a Springbok. He is ultimately limited by his lack of international level pace, but few can argue that he hasn’t developed to his natural limits during his time at the Bulls.
Jaco Pretorius was past his prime when he left the Lions, has since lost a yard or three of pace, and has struggled to complete half a season without injuries to his ageing body.
Now you want to try and use those two examples to bolster your tenuous argument, when they in fact do nothing of the sort. Truth is, you have no argument. And the only reason you hotwired this article together in some writers’ chop-shop, was because you had no article either, which you needed to meet your Wednesday quota for your HSM masters.
This must be the poorest attempt I’ve ever seen from you, Ryan. You can see the boss is away in India, and the standards are already dropping as a result.
22 Sep 2010, 13:08 pm
Great move for Basson, same as Habana, Kirchner, Ettienne Botha, Gurthro Steenkamp and many others. Basson will improve conditioning. Exciting signing.
22 Sep 2010, 13:09 pm
Zane didn’t pick himself for the Boks. He isnt a Bok player, but there are bigger problems ahead of him in the Bok 15/22. He was quality in the S14.
Jaco has been dissapointing, fair enough. But that is only one example.
Many, many careers have withered at WP
22 Sep 2010, 13:15 pm
Testing Testing
I see one or two of my comments have been removed from the other thread.
22 Sep 2010, 13:54 pm
my first car was a toyota & to compare Kirchner with a toyota is an insult..he is as kuk as a tata
22 Sep 2010, 14:14 pm
If zane is a Tata, then WO must be a 1970 John Deere Tractor!
22 Sep 2010, 14:14 pm
Bad signing, if Basson wanted to really shine as a backline wing Bulls is by far the wrong place for him. Sharks or Cheetahs or Lions or WP. Anywhere but Bulls, he’ll stagnate and lose his spark and get swallowed up by all that one dimensional mediocrity like all the others before him. Bulls wrong place for Basson, bad signing. Hope it don’t ruin his career.
22 Sep 2010, 14:19 pm
Actually he’ll fit in nicely…nothing to do just chase the kicks! Getting paid 2M for chasing balls for lets say 10 minutes per game…….
22 Sep 2010, 14:20 pm
I hope the Blue Blood culture of snorting, killing, women and fast cars dont get the better of him! He should enrol at Tukkies while he at it!
22 Sep 2010, 14:23 pm
A BComm or BSc(Science or Eng) should easily get him a job after his career with the Bulls. Or start him own Rugby Academy down in Amatole
22 Sep 2010, 14:32 pm
the bulls can claim griekwas to be their breeding ground! seker hulle het te min verstand in Pta om hulle eie talent te kweek
22 Sep 2010, 14:33 pm
There are no black people in Tswane
22 Sep 2010, 14:38 pm
there are….the gardeners & maids
22 Sep 2010, 14:39 pm
The son of Mduzbe should stay away from the Blue Blood culture
22 Sep 2010, 14:40 pm
Zimbos and Porras
22 Sep 2010, 14:50 pm
LMAO LMAO
22 Sep 2010, 14:51 pm
…………………./´¯/)
………………..,/¯../
………………./…./
…………./´¯/’…’/´¯¯`•¸
………/’/…/…./……/ ¯\
……..(’(…´…´…. ¯~/’…’)
………\……………..’…../
……….’\’…\………. _.•´
…………\…………..(
Moderate this….
22 Sep 2010, 14:52 pm
Bad signing for Basson my @ss
And to say he would be better off at another SA union because he’ll be wasted or won’t shine, ja ja because the other unions are try scoring machines in Super Rugby.
Go see the S14 logs of the last two years and see which SA union scored the most tries.
And how many tries did Van der Heever end up scoring, a lot on this site say he’s cr@p and I don’t think he’s the finished article either but whats Basson going to do then, end up scoring 20 tries in a season?
22 Sep 2010, 14:53 pm
lol yes. Posted a middle finger and no moderation. Responded to the middle finger and it gets moderated.
You okes should go work for ABSA….
22 Sep 2010, 14:55 pm
Damn you guys spoilt my “recent comments” streak
22 Sep 2010, 14:56 pm
stormersboy: I responded to your comment 35 and it says Your comment is awaiting moderation.
22 Sep 2010, 14:57 pm
stormersboy: What did you do to these guys? They don’t like you man.
22 Sep 2010, 14:58 pm
Is this what our media will experience after the tribunal?
22 Sep 2010, 15:02 pm
@JA-JA isn’t it ironic? They’ll moderate a reply, whether it’s innocent or not, but post something like i did and it sailed through unhindered….
As for these guys not liking me, well I’m surprised, but then there’s no accounting for taste is there?? (insert smiley here)
22 Sep 2010, 15:02 pm
What a pile of cr*p, stop worrying about the Bulls developing talent. Rather worry that they are one of the best club sides in the world and the national team are complete sh*t.
Stupid article from a stupid journ … no sorry he aint.
22 Sep 2010, 15:02 pm
It’s like China banning Google or something…..
22 Sep 2010, 15:05 pm
I’m going to have to use my Keo Dollars accumulated over the years to hire a ‘virtual attorney’ to fight this.
As the Dude said: This will not stand, man!
22 Sep 2010, 15:05 pm
@ Stormerboy…Dont let Ryan Vrede cry..again
22 Sep 2010, 15:06 pm
Ok so basically as long as no-one clicks on the “reply” button you can basically say and do as you please, as in the past.
Great Moderation filter settings there boys!
22 Sep 2010, 15:08 pm
@MIGHTY: Can you see my post 36: The one where I reply to myself? In my view it has a big red “your comment….” comment. can you see that?
22 Sep 2010, 15:08 pm
Keo should have a Poll:
Have you closed your ABSA account?
22 Sep 2010, 15:08 pm
van der heever looks in his prime as a cheerleader ala WO
22 Sep 2010, 15:17 pm
The problem with Kirchner is that he doesn’t back himself on attack… He should do away with the up and under as his default option – doesn’t work for him. And on the off chance that he does take contact he decelarates before taking the hit. Much like James May in a crash test.
22 Sep 2010, 15:21 pm
Zane Kirchner has done quite well at the Bulls.
He does the basics well and can kick a long distance, which is very important for a fullback.
He is strong on his feet, unlike most overrated SA backs, and scored 3 tries in this season’s Super 14.
3 tries makes him equal 45th in the list of top try scorers, which is good in a competition which features more than 210 backs per weekend (and more forwards obviously), and try scoring is not his main responsibility.
Jaco Pretorius was never a very talented 15-man player. He is definitely not strong on his feet. He only had one good game against a weak WP defence which started everyone raving about him.
Bjorn Basson is more talented than either of these players, so he should do well. I think Bulls backs have done well in recent years. In this year’s S14 they had two of the top 10 try scorers (their two wingers). That’s 1/5 of the top ten in a competition with 14 teams. The Stormers and the Blues were the only other two teams to have more than one player in the top 10.
These stats were taken from rugbytalk.com
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.