Silky Simelane's best Bulls showing to date no guarantee of a future No 13 jersey

A breakthrough performance at his new rugby home?

That will be the question on many lips after the mercurial Wandi Simelane excelled at outside centre in the Bulls' fine 39-28 Champions Cup triumph over Exeter at Loftus on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old flourished in a freewheeling encounter, racking up 129 running metres, which included two linebreaks, and scoring a brace of tries to boot.

His showing will encourage Springbok team management in particular, who were reportedly a tad miffed at a pre-season admission from Jake White, the Bulls director of rugby, that Simelane's immediate playing future was at fullback.

It's understood the national setup prefer Simelane in his customary No 13 jersey.

Yet Chris Rossouw, the Bulls' backline specialist and currently White's stand-in as head coach, reiterated that Simelane will still be expected to expand his repertoire in line with the franchise's overall philosophy of cultivating a vast group of utility backs.     

"To be honest, the past two weeks were probably designed for him to simply gain some confidence by playing in a position he's very comfortable with. I don't believe Wandi needs much time in midfield because he's very accomplished there already. Every time he's going to get picked at 13, he'll use the opportunity and probably excel," he said.

"But looking at our wider group, one can see the importance of having a squad where 20 of your backs can play in any position. In Wandi's defence, he's worked extremely hard over the past five months. It's the case with every player tasked with getting used to another position. There will be times where you feel like a fish out of water and that's when you begin to grow because you're out of your comfort zone."

READ | Simelane stars