Everitt certain talented Bulls youngsters ‘not hurt' by URC-flavoured Currie Cup selections

It’s gone largely unnoticed, but the Bulls have turned the tide their way in recent seasons in terms of having the strongest junior teams in the country. 

Last year, they took the SA Rugby Under-19 and Under-20 Championships and lost in the latter’s final this year to the Sharks Under-20s. They face the Sharks again in the Under-19 final at Loftus this Saturday.  

The Bulls also had 12 players in Bafana Nhleko’s 30-member Junior Springbok team for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship starting in Cape Town later this month, three more than the Sharks (nine).  

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Aside from the juniors, the Bulls have youngsters that have bubbled under the senior team’s surface, some of whom have already shown an aptitude to mix it up with the United Rugby Championship (URC) big guns. 

Players such as Muller Uys (24) and Reinhardt Ludwig (20) have already captained senior Bulls teams in the Currie Cup, but their game time has been reduced to almost naught as the Bulls chase a semi-final place in their last few rounds as mentor Jake White leans on his experienced big hitters. 

"I wouldn’t say it’s hurting them because they had quite a few opportunities earlier in the season," Bulls assistant coach Sean Everitt insisted. 

"We also know that the number of games they’ve had available to them has been limited. 

"But they have had a fair amount of game time earlier on in the competition. When you’re under the pump and you want to win a trophy and the Bulls being a proud union when it comes to the Currie Cup, unfortunately, you have to make some sacrifices. 

"In saying that, we have rotated this group around in the last five games. You've seen a young