Bulls captain praises youngsters Van Heerden and Ludwig

Bulls captain Ruan Nortje has been full of praise for young forwards JF van Heerden, 20, and Reinhardt Ludwig, 22, who stood in for him during his two-month injury.

The 26-year-old Springbok lock drew attention to their development in more than just their physical games in the last few seasons.

He said this after Bulls director of rugby Jake White featured second-string teams during their recent four-game losing streak, which was broken with their comprehensive Champions Cup victory over Stade Français last weekend.

At the time, White cited injuries, and the need for squad rotation amid a tough travelling schedule, as reasons for the widespread changes.

For Nortje, the demanding circumstances acted as a baptism of fire for the youngsters.

Van Heerden handles big-pressure situations

“It’s great to see when the young guys came through this season. Last season Reinhardt came through for us very well too,” Nortje said.

He added it was good to see how Ludwig has grown since then.

When Ludwig and Nortje were injured at the same time, Van Heerden stepped in.

“I personally think he did very well. I think he was thrown into some big-pressure games and he controlled that aspect of the game very well.

“For a guy that young to play that kind of rugby speaks about the kind of future he can have.”

It was amid this difficult period that Van Heerden took the pressure in his stride and put faith in his mentors.

In December, the Ruggas 2022 forward of the year told media that “improvement comes with experience”.

He said Nortje and forwards coach Andries Bekker had helped him especially with line-out calls.

“It is a difficult thing, coming from SA U20 level, but there are opportunities for me to learn as a player,” Van Heerden said.

“Everyone is very open about it and Ruan and Andries have helped. We form a solid plan and that takes a lot of pressure off.”

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