How Thembelani Bholi already represents the (new) Bulls brand

When people hear the words “Bulls” and “John Mitchell”, the assumption is that it should translate into elegant rugby.

Yet even if the men from Loftus are embarking on a new journey to an attractive game-plan in Super Rugby this season, it doesn’t mean every player has to play with finesse.

Just ask Thembelani Bholi.

The robust 28-year-old flanker on Thursday emerged from the fringes to be included in Mitchell’s first starting XV of the campaign against the Hurricanes at home this weekend.

Bholi wasn’t included in the franchise’s initial Super Rugby squad announced last month but has worked his socks off in the pre-season and has been duly rewarded.

“Thembelani is quite deliberate. There’s no fancy stuff about him,” said Mitchell.

“If he needs to carry the ball, he’ll carry. We’re also developing his game pre-tackle by improving his passing over time. He doesn’t have particularly good footwork but he doesn’t necessarily need that because he finds other ways of getting over the gainline.”

Given the Bulls mentor’s focus on team spirit and cohesion, Bholi’s willingness to work hard is also attractive to him.

“The players will share my sentiment that his teammates enjoy him, basically because he’s very quiet about the way he goes about things,” said Mitchell.

“He’s eliminated some of the errors that was in his game. When he first started here, he was naturally not used to our systems and that was a bit nerve-wracking to him. But Thembelani has demonstrated brilliant work ethic. He’s leaned up and the guys say he’s pretty hard. There might be a few Hurricanes who don’t want to run into him.”

More importantly, it shows that already the players are buying in to Mitchell’s philosophy.

“It’s about breeding clarity and confidence in the athletes. It doesn’t matter who’s selected, it’s about being ready. And many of our guys are,” said the Bulls coach.

Bulls: Warrick Gelant, Travis Ismaiel, Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal (c), Johnny Kotze, Handre Pollard, Andre Warner, Hanro Liebenberg, Thembelani Bholi, Roelof Smit, Lood de Jager, RG Snyman, Frans van Wyk, Jaco Visagie, Pierre Schoeman. Bench: Adriaan Strauss, Lizo Gqoboka, Conraad van Vuuren, Nic de Jager, Marco van Staden, Embrose Papier, Marnitz Boshoff, Divan Rossouw.