Former captain Ruan Nortjé hopes Bulls can go all the way this year

The Springbok lock says he wants the Bulls to succeed in the URC, following his move to Japan after almost 10 years at the union. Though he left the union in June, Ruan Nortjé says he will always be a Bulls player in his heart and has followed their current campaign closely, hoping they can go all the way this time. Nortjé played for the Bulls for eight years since 2018 before joining Kubota Spears in Japan. The 28-year-old Springbok lock played in all four United Rugby Championship (URC) finals the Bulls have reached since South African teams joined the tournament five seasons ago. He has in the past spoken of the heartache of the defeats, but also the need for the team to always put them behind them if they wanted to cross the line. Last year’s defeat was the heaviest in the tournament’s current format (36-7), with a try by Nortjé disallowed for an earlier knock-on. ‘A Bull in my heart’ Now on the other side of the fence, Nortjé said he was still deeply invested in his former team’s success. “I will always be a big Bulls supporter and always stay a Bull in my heart,” the lock said, adding he watched Bulls games as often as he could. “Over the nine, 10 years that I was there, I made some really good lifelong friends. So I definitely stay in touch with a lot of them.” Springbok lock Ruan Nortjé speaks to media at a press conference. Picture: Nderim Kaceli/Gallo Images Nortjé hopes Bulls can win this time He felt the team had started the season well, led by his former touring roommate, Marcell Coetzee. The Pretoria union are second on the URC log early in the season, after wins against Zebre, Lions, Ulster and Scarlets, with only one close defeat away to Munster. They also comprehensively won their opening Champions Cup match 56-20 against Stade Français at Loftus, where they had lost both their home games in the tournament last year. Overall, the Bulls are now on a four-game winning streak and looking like real contenders in both the URC and Champions Cup. “I think it’s been a great start for them. The way they’re playing is definitely the way coach Ackers (Johan Ackermann) and coach Neil de Bruin and everybody want to play. It’s starting to come through. “I think it’s a really exciting season for them and I really hope this is the year that the Bulls can go one further (winning the URC final). I’ll be rooting for them all the way.”