A promising player who has been named in both the Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks sides for the coming Vodacom United Rugby Championship season may raise a few eyebrows, but not in the case of SA under-20 and SA A bolter Luan Gilomee.
The utility back, who played for SA A against Zimbabwe and has also represented the Springbok Sevens, has signed for the Bulls from the Sharks, but was surprisingly named in both squads on Thursday as teams released their greater group of players for the upcoming season.
But Gilomee, who will become a Bull and can play both fullback and flyhalf, is an exciting prospect whose situation is complicated a bit by the fact he still has a junior contract - and one that doesn’t run according to the URC - and therefore a greater South African season.
Gilomee’s contract - as far as can be ascertained - runs until the beginning of December, hence him turning out for the Sharks against the All Blacks, and while there may be some chat between the two unions, he will become a Bull a bit sooner, it seems.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann confirmed that he expects Gilomee to join the team during October, when his commitment to the Sharks ends.
“So he's still under contract from the Sharks but we have an agreement that he will come to us once his contract finishes. And unfortunately the season has already started by then. That's why he's delayed. So he'll come over the moment he's free to come over,” Ackermann said.
Ackermann was pressed on a timeframe and said he believed it would happen in October, most likely after the Champions Cup first round had taken place.
Ackermann also revealed that the side were in talks with World Player of the Year Malcolm Marx and fellow double World Cup-winning Bok Kwagga Smith to join the side, but nothing had been finalised yet.
Both players finish their contracts in Japan next year and will be available after the World Cup.
“Their names are on the table with us, and we will definitely have a look at them, but it isn’t anywhere near finalised. So it's not a yes or no,” Ackermann smiled.
Following the loss to Leinster - which was the Bulls’ fourth final loss in five years - the pressure is on to get the side to lift a trophy, and Ackermann knows the expectations. But a new season does bring new pressures, although the Bulls say they have learnt from those losses and will have changed up going into the new season.
“The players will know, you know. We were highly disappointed to lose the final but the positives were there. For me, the character to get there outshone the loss. And it sounds funny because obviously everybody wants to lift a trophy, and we really wanted to lift the trophy not, not for us, but for the supporters,” Ackermann explained.
“But then again, if you think about where we were on the 3rd of January when we lost against the Stormers, we were 12th on the log. We were 21 or 31 points behind the Stormers. If you asked me then: 'Do you wanna play in a final?', you know, we all would've said yes.
“The character the players showed, that is what I told them, that it makes me proud to be part of that changing room. Again, it sounds like a story, but every top sportsman has the story that life is not that easy always, you know. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of heartache. It can be injuries, setbacks, or disappointment to get to your goal.
“It doesn't matter. But it's how you just respond to that. So I said to them: 'We can't change it, but we just have to put it behind us and reset.' So that is what we will do this year. It's such small margins, you know, in those high-level games. I think it's just the way we played on the day that probably hurts more. But it's done and dusted now, and hopefully we can keep our heads down, and work hard.”
Ackermann said it was a bit of a guessing game with the Springboks’ involvement in a World Cup year, but at the moment, it seemed the Bulls would only not have their Boks for two games in the URC season.