Bulls

History

Northern Transvaal

The team as it is known today has its beginnings in 1938 when the then Northern Transvaal Rugby Union broke away from the Transvaal Rugby Football Union to gain status as an independent rugby union. The new team was named Northern Transvaal and donned light blue jerseys with a red Barberton Daisy emblem. However, in their very first match, they played in the red and gold hooped jerseys of the Pretoria Combined team that often "locked horns" with teams touring South Africa (red and gold being the colors of Pretoria).

Lion Cup

Northern Transvaal participated in the Lion Cup between 1983 and 1994. The Lion Cup was a domestic rugby union knock-out competition held in South Africa. Northern Transvaal tasted success in the competition on three occasions, winning the competition in 1985, 1990 and 1991. They also finished as runners-up three times in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Northern Transvaal claimed the Lion Cup 62–6 against Natal in 1991, which is one of the biggest victories ever in a final.

Currie Cup / Central Series

The Northern Transvaal rugby team participated in the Currie Cup / Central Series from 1986 to 1994. The competition saw the top Currie Cup teams play the Currie Cup Central A teams, with the Currie Cup team with the best playing record awarded the Percy Frames Trophy. Western Province was the most successful team, with Northern Transvaal also doing well, claiming six consecutive titles between 1987 and 1992.

Early franchise history

Prior to the professional Super Rugby competition, Northern Transvaal competed in the Super 10, which was a tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tonga and Western Samoa, which ran from 1993 to 1995. The top three teams from the previous Currie Cup season qualified for each of the Super 10 tournaments.

Northern Transvaal competed in the 1993 season, where they were grouped in Pool B alongside Transvaal, New South Wales, North Harbour and Waikato. Transvaal finished at the top of the pool, with Northern Transvaal finishing third, behind New South Wales. Northern Transvaal did not qualify for the 1994 or 1995 seasons.

Early professional era (1996–2005)

After rugby union went professional, the Super 10 tournament was restructured. The Super 12 was created, and was to be competed by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Both Australia and New Zealand adopted new franchise models for their teams, whereas South Africa chose to use the Currie Cup to decide what teams were to be promoted in the Super 12 each season.

Competing in the inaugural Super 12 season of 1996, Northern Transvaal were one of the 12 teams. The side won eight of their 11 games and finished third on the table – behind only Auckland and Queensland. Jannie Kruger finished the season in the top three leading point-scorers, behind only Matt Burke and John Eales. The side was, however, soundly defeated in a semi-final by the Auckland Blues, with the final score being 48 points to 11. The game was played at Eden Park in Auckland.

After their fairly successful performance in the opening competition, the subsequent competition of 1997 saw them with three wins and three draws from 11 games. They finished at eighth. Following the 1997 season, South Africa adopted a similar franchise system to that of Australia and New Zealand's, abolishing the Currie Cup promotion system in favour of creating new franchises. The Bulls were formed as one of the four new teams. They did not make the semis in the 1998 season. The Bulls were considered one of the worst teams in the Super 12 competition, finishing last or second to last for five consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2003. In 2002, they became the first team ever to go through an entire Super Rugby season without winning a single game. This record remained until the Lions repeated the feat during the 2010 season. After finishing fourth in the inaugural competition, they did not make the semis again until the years 2003.

The Bulls finished in 6th place in both 2003 and 2004, though still missing out on a finals position. They equalled there 1996 performance in 2005, although there was a very poor start to the season, it was followed by six straight wins to earn them a semi-final berth, where they were defeated by the New South Wales Waratahs. Bryan Habana finished in the top three try-scorers by the end of the season, and was short-listed for IRB player of the year.

Super 14 era (2006–10)

In 2006, the Super 12 became the Super 14, with the addition of two new franchises, the Cheetahs and the Western Force. By the last round of the 2006 season, the Bulls, along with the Brumbies and Sharks were all in contention to take the fourth and final position on the ladder to make the semi-finals. After the Brumbies were defeated 33 to 3 by the Crusaders, the Bulls or Sharks could mathematically take the fourth spot. The Bulls defeated the Stormers at Newlands in Cape Town 43 points to 10, which ensured they went through to the semi-finals. The Bulls travelled to Christchurch where they were defeated 35 to 15 at Jade Stadium and knocked out of the finals.

The Bulls lost their first game of the 2007 Super 14 season, going down to the Sharks in Durban 17 points to 3. Entering week 14, the last round of the regular season, the Bulls were chasing an unlikely 72-point win over the Queensland Reds in order to move into second place and get a home semi-final. At Loftus, the Bulls defeated the Reds 92 points to 3, with the 89-point margin of victory setting a new Super rugby record. The Bulls ran in 13 tries with four players getting doubles and Derick Hougaard kicking 11 conversions. The Sharks finished first, so it became the first time that both home venues in the semi-finals was in South Africa.

The Bulls defeated the Crusaders in their semi-final by 27 points to 12, with Derick Hougaard kicking eight penalties and a drop-goal. The Sharks ensured a home-final in the 2007 Super 14-competition by defeating the Blues with a scoreline of 34–18.

When the Bulls met the Sharks in the Super 14 final at the Absa Stadium in Durban the match turned out to be a tight, nervous affair with the Bulls initially being guilty of indiscipline and making a lot of mistakes. The Sharks carried a 14–10 advantage into half-time after a JP Pietersen try cancelled out one from Pierre Spies. The second half of the match was just as nail-biting, with the Bulls gaining the ascendancy in the match, but failing to turn their rising amount of possession into points. A Derick Hougaard penalty closed the gap to 14–13, after which the Bulls made several onslaughts on the Sharks line, only to lose the ball at critical stages. Their match looked to be all but over for the Bulls when Albert van den Berg barged over the line for a Sharks try two minutes from full-time to stretch their lead to six points. However, François Steyn failed with the conversion attempt, and the Bulls restarted with barely seconds on the clock. After regaining the ball from the kick-off, play went through several phases before Bryan Habana received the ball on the right wing. He cut infield and scored the most dramatic of match winning tries, more than a minute after official play. The try was converted by Derick Hougaard and the Bulls won the match 20–19. In 2009 the Bulls again won the Super 14, defeating the Chiefs 61 – 17 in the final in Pretoria.

Super Rugby era (2011–2020)

The Bulls only managed the Super Rugby South African Conference trophy in 2013 and they were three time conference runner-up in 2012, 2014 and 2019. They also reached the qualifiers twice and semi-final once, but lost all three play-off matches.

After the 2020 Super Rugby season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a replacement tournament was announced for each country. The South African tournament was called Super Rugby Unlocked and the Bulls were crowned the champions after ending top of the log.

The South African teams withdrew from the competition entirely, making the Bulls the only South African winners of any form of the Super Rugby trophy.

Pro14 and United Rugby Championship era (2021–present)

The Pro14 Rainbow Cup was announced as an end-of-season cup competition to introduce the South African teams after their withdrawal from Super Rugby. After the regular season the top of the South African log Bulls faced European top Benetton in the final in Italy. The Bulls lost their first match in Europe as well as the Pro14 Rainbow Cup final 35–8.

The 2021–22 season was a tough start for the Bulls with two straight losses in Europe against Leinster 31-3 and Connacht 34–7. The Bulls got their first win in Europe on 9 October 2021 beating Cardiff Blues 29–19.

They went on to finish in 4th place on the overall standings after regular season, securing a home quarter-final.

Rivalries

Through the years the rivalry between the Blue Bulls and Western Province grew, and a clash between these two sides became one of the Currie Cup's biggest rivalries. The first time that the two sides met in a Currie Cup final was in 1946, which was also Northern Transvaal's first final contest. The match was played at Northern Transvaal's home ground at Loftus Versfeld, and saw Western Province go down 11 to 9.

After meeting in numerous other finals following 1946, it was not until the 1982 season, when Western Province defeated Northern Transvaal in a Currie Cup final. In the 1980s the two sides met in six Currie Cup finals, with Western Province winning three of them and one being drawn. One of the most recent Currie Cup seasons when both sides made it to the final was the 1998 season: The Blue Bulls beat the Western Province by four points, 24 to 20, at Loftus Versfeld.

Location

The team is centred around the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, whose catchment covers Pretoria as well as Limpopo province, but also draws players from the Falcons Rugby Union, who represent the East Rand. Through 2005, the Bulls also drew players from the Pumas Rugby Union and Leopards Rugby Union, but in the realignment of franchise areas that came from the expansion of Super 12 to Super 14, these unions were moved into the Lions.

Stadium

The Bulls play all their home matches at the Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, which is also the home of the Blue Bulls during the Currie Cup season. The stadium is also a regular host for Springboks Test matches, and was a venue during the 1995 Rugby World Cup which South Africa hosted. Loftus was a venue for Pool D matches including France v Tonga, Scotland v Tonga and France v Scotland. Loftus was also used twice during the finals stages – for the New Zealand v Scotland quarter-final and the England v France third place play-off.

The ground has been used for rugby since 1908, and in 1932 the stadium was renamed to Loftus Versfeld in honor of Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, the founder of organized rugby in Pretoria. The stadium has undergone numerous renovations over the years, and is currently capable of holding 51,762 spectators.

Primary sponsor

Since 2005, the team's main sponsor has been mobile communications company Vodacom. On the team's website and all team-issued press releases, the Bulls are referred to as the Vodacom Bulls.

Current squad

The Bulls squad for the 2025–26 United Rugby Championship is:

The following players have been included so far in the Bulls XV squad for the 2026 Currie Cup Premier Division:

Coaches

Currie Cup, Lion Cup, Percy Frames Trophy

1968–1981: Brig. Buurman Van Zyl (11 Currie Cup titles)

1982–1984: Dr. Ernst Dinkelmann

1985: Genl.Maj. Bert Wandrag (1 Lion Cup title)

1986–1989: Dr John Williams (3 Currie Cup titles; 3 Percy Frames Trophy titles)

1990–1993: Eugene Van Wyk (1 Currie Cup Title; 2 Lion Cup titles; 3 Percy Frames Trophy titles)

1994–1997: Dr John Williams

1998–2000: Eugene Van Wyk (1 Currie Cup title)

2001–2005: Heyneke Meyer (3 Currie Cup titles)

2006–2007: Pote Human (1 Currie Cup title)

2008–2010: Frans Ludeke (1 Currie Cup title)

2011–2013: Pine Pienaar

2014: Frans Ludeke

2015–2017: Nollis Marais

2018: John Mitchell

2019: Pote Human

2020–2021: Jake White (2 Currie Cup titles)

2022: Gert Smal

2023: Edgar Marutlulle

2024–present: Phiwe Nomlomo

Captains

1996–97: Ruben Kruger

1998: Adriaan Richter

1999: Schutte Bekker

2000: Ruben Kruger

2001: Joost van der Westhuizen

2002: Chris le Roux

2003: Joost van der Westhuizen

2004: Victor Matfield

2005: Anton Leonard

2006–07: Victor Matfield

2008: Fourie du Preez

2009–11: Victor Matfield

2012–13: Pierre Spies

2014: Flip van der Merwe & Victor Matfield

2015: Victor Matfield

2016: Adriaan Strauss

2017: Handré Pollard

2018: Burger Odendaal

2019: Lood de Jager

2020: Burger Odendaal and Trevor Nyakane

2020–21: Duane Vermeulen

2021–present: Marcell Coetzee

Statistics

Overall results by opponent in all competitions

Complete results for the Bulls vs different opponents in all competitions:

All these stats include playoff matches (qualifiers, semi-finals and finals).

All Super Rugby fixtures vs different opponents as Northern Transvaal 1996–1997 as Bulls 1998–2020 included

All 2020 Super Rugby Unlocked fixtures included

All 2021 Preparation Series fixtures included

2021 Pro14 Rainbow Cup included

2022 Toyota Challenge included

United Rugby Championship fixtures added 2021–22 – 2024–25

European Rugby Champions Cup included 2022–23 – 2024–25

Correct as of 7 December 2025

Results by opposition in the Currie Cup

This data include all playoff matches (quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals).

2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2016 Currie Cup qualification results included.

2000 Bankfin Cup results included.

Correct as of 7 December 2025

Bulls XV

The Blue Bulls Vodacom Cup and SuperSport Rugby Challenge results vs different opponents 1998-2019] are as follows.

Added together based on the fact that both competitions serves as the second tier in South African rugby. In some of these fixtures, the Blue Bulls were represented by the Blue Bulls XV.

Fixtures as the Blue Bulls XV included.

This data include all playoff matches (quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals)

All fixtures added 1998 - 2019

Other notable results:

Bulls records

United Rugby Championship (Rainbow Cup), Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup and Super Rugby records

Correct as of 13 April 2025 (United Rugby Championship not updated with current season yet)

Pro14 Rainbow Cup also included as URC points.

United Rugby Championship

Innovation Award

United Rugby Championship Team of the Year

The following Bulls players were selected in the URC team of the year.

SA Vodacom URC Player of the Season

United Rugby Championship Golden Boot

The Golden Boot is awarded to the kicker who has successfully converted the highest percentage of place kicks. To be eligible, the player must have taken at least 20 kicks at goal.

United Rugby Championship Ironman of the Year

The award for having played the most minutes in the URC during the season.

United Rugby Championship Next-Gen Player of the Year

The award is to recognize young up and coming talent.

All time records

All 2021 Super Rugby Unlocked points included

All 2021 Preparation Series points included

2021 Pro14 Rainbow Cup points included

United Rugby Championship points included 2021–22 – 2022–23

Correct as of 3 June 2023

Currie Cup records

Bulls Currie Cup records:

Play-off honours

Trophies and honours

Team of the Year for the 2010 season

Team of the Year for the 2020 season

Season-by-season record

Gold background denotes championsSilver background denotes runner-upBronze background denotes semi-finalistsCyan background denotes quarter-finalistsPurple background denotes Round of 16

↑ After entering the Champions Cup competition from the EPCR Challenge Cup

↓ After dropping into the EPCR Challenge Cup competition from the Champions Cup

Bulls XV

Blue Bulls XV results for each season were as follows:

Bankfin Nite Series seasons 1996 - 1997

Vodacom Cup seasons 1998 - 2015

SuperSport Rugby Challenge 2017 - 2019