Bulls belatedly unleash their Blitzboks beast

The plan had been delayed a bit but the Bulls are finally ready to unleash Blitzboks star Tim Agaba for the first time in this year’s Super Rugby campaign.

The 28-year-old on Wednesday was picked in the starting line-up for Friday’s meeting with the Crusaders in Christchurch and is arguably regarded as a trump card.

Despite his considerable bulk – he stands 1.93m in his boots and weighs 106kg – Agaba has the all-round ability to not be an enforcer as a ball-carrier but also has the speed to be a pest at the breakdown like his partner in the loose trio Roelof Smit.

“Tim’s a really good athlete,” said coach John Mitchell.

“He came back from the sevens setup with a slight niggle so we had to put some foundation work into him. Fortunately, it’s paid off.”

The Bulls mentor is particularly excited about the attitude of the Ugandan-born flanker, who grew up in the former Transkei after his parents moved to South Africa.

“Tim’s done a really good job, he’s very professional and a good communicator,” said Mitchell.

“I believe he’s got some good leadership skills too. We’ve enjoyed his presence since he’s been back. His abilities are also varied. He’s pretty fast there on the edge when he gets opportunities and will certainly cause an opposition defence to react.

“He offers a lot of value.”

While the last two weeks’ missed opportunities against the Reds and Chiefs respectively has led to much introspection and analysis, a big if somewhat under-reported headache is their discipline – four yellow cards in four matches.

Mitchell admitted that suspended prop Conraad van Vuuren’s sanction for a swinging arm tackle was “probably good timing and a crossroad to learn from” but wants more consistency from referees.

“We were unfortunate that the opposition didn’t receive a yellow card last week. There was a period of various infringements at the rucks where the ref should’ve gone to his pocket. That was down to the pressure we exerted. Hopefully we get some reward for that this week.”

Bulls: Warrick Gelant, Travis Ismaiel, Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal (c), Divan Rossouw, Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier, Hanro Liebenberg, Tim Agaba, Roelof Smit, Lood de Jager, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Jaco Visagie, Pierre Schoeman. Bench: Adriaan Strauss, Lizo Gqoboka, Frans van Wyk, Hendre Stassen, Marco van Staden, Ivan van Zyl, Manie Libbok, Johnny Kotze.

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