Box office Hanekom thrilled with Bulls’ collective effort in win against Stormers

A box office performance from Bulls eighthman Cameron Hanekom helped them break a five match losing streak in Cape Town as they edged the Stormers 33-32 in an exhilarating North-South United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

Hanekom was deservedly named the man-of-the-match after an action packed showing, with him setting the tone early with a scintillating run off the kick-off, and in the end made a number of powerful runs, was a menace at the breakdown and tackled like a demon.

However, it is a testament to the high standards that the young rising talent has placed on himself that he wasn’t completely happy with his performance, but was more happy with the collective effort of his teammates in helping them get over the line.

“I must say we had a lot of pressure coming here. We had a couple losses in a row here in Cape Town. But we told ourselves we just have to stick to the basics, forget about what happened in the past and play for the now,” said Hanekom.

“We stood together as a collective unit and we got over the line, and I am very happy and proud of each and every one of us.

“I was a bit frustrated with myself. I made some stupid errors. There are some small tweaks that I can make to my game to improve as a player and get better for the team. There were some kicks I should have caught.”

Collective effort

Hanekom continued: “But at the end of the day it’s a collective effort. Without the players next to me I would never have the confidence to go out there and do what I do.

“We have a couple of work-ons. There were some poor moments where we gave away soft points. You are never going to get that perfect game, but that’s what we are striving for.

“So it’s back to the drawing board (on Monday) and trying to improve. Sharks next weekend, it’s a big one coming up again and we have to be ready for it.”

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee was also a happy man after the game, despite him coming off early in the second half due to a concussion.

“It was a phenomenal derby. I think both sides showed quality rugby and it could’ve gone either way. A simple kick at the end, simple decision making, but all in all I am very happy and couldn’t be more proud of the team,” said Coetzee.

“We just needed to stick to the system. We knew they would apply pressure and it is all about absorbing as much as you can away from home. They feed off the energy from the crowd, so it was all about absorbing and implementing at the end of the day and I thought we got that balance right.

“We could have had a little bit (better) game management, and we could have been sharper in certain areas, but all in all we closed it down well.”