Shrewd Bulls rope in Duane Vermeulen as a not-to-secret weapon for URC showdown

Never shy to pull a rabbit out of the hat, Jake White on Friday gleefully revealed a potential Bulls trump card for the United Rugby Championship (URC) final against the Stormers: Duane Vermeulen.

No, the marauding Springbok eighth man - who earlier this week underwent knee surgery to clean out some cartilage - won't unexpectedly be returning to the side he still captained last year, but provide some intelligence gathered from Ulster's last-gasp defeat to the Capetonians in last weekend's semi-final.

Vermeulen joined the Irish heavyweights from Loftus in the second part of 2021.

Tip motivation scale

Interestingly, White specifically wants his former prized asset to help the Bulls sharpen up their maul defence, which proved a problem in their quarter-final against the Sharks a fortnight ago.

In contrast, Ulster was excellent in stopping the Stormers there.

READ | Bok assistant coach Davids urges URC finalists to go all out: 'Leave everything on the field'

"Duane actually [had] lunch with me," said White.

"He also [accompanied] us to the captain's run specifically because I wanted to pick his brain on how Ulster were so successful in that regard.

"I'm going to show him our lineouts. I have everything here on my screen that I want to show him. I want to ask him what their plan would've been in this clip and that one. Also, why was something done in a certain way on a relevant occasion.

"I'm covering that base too."

Vermeulen's presence is shrewd on numerous fronts, not only in terms of providing insight into the small tactical tweaks that sometimes define a team's more relaxed preparation for a showpiece match but also just being a familiar, inspirational figure to tip the motivation scales that little bit more.

"Our coaches have done