CAPE TOWN - Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen was looking the worse for wear following his battle with Frans Malherbe.
Van Rooyen’s blue left eye was virtually closed, and he sported a couple of nasty-looking stitches as well when he spoke to the media this week.
But these were badges of honour as his team romped to a comprehensive 39-6 victory over the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld.
“The eye is fine. I had a bit of a deep cut there, so they had to put in a few stitches on the inside before they could work nicely on the outside. But worse things have happened to people in the world, hey. To win definitely helps ... especially with a cold beer after the win makes it even better,” the 33-year-old loosehead prop said with a smile.
It was another satisfying outing for the front-ranker who hails from Pretoria, but is playing in his first season for the Bulls.
He has had to fill the boots of injured Springbok Lizo Gqoboka, while another promising No 1 in Simphiwe Matanzima is also not yet ready to play.
So, going head-to-head with the incumbent Bok No 3 Malherbe – and in fact the World Cup-winning front row that also included Bongi Mbonambi and Steven Kitshoff – was a huge test of his abilities.
“We really worked hard last week on our set-piece, because we knew that’s one of the Stormers’ strengths. We’re reasonably pleased, but would’ve liked to get a few more penalties out of scrum-time,” Van Rooyen said.
“We were so charged up that we half-regretted that the first scrum only came in the 24th minute – we had charged ourselves up so much for that.
The first scrum went to ground and I gave AJ (Jacobs, referee) my opinion on what was going on – Frans went to ground and landed on his stomach – but he (Jacobs) just played on.
“But in that first scrum, we saw that if we stay within our system and all eight forwards keep working together, then it will go well – just as long as not every guy tries to do his own thing and show that he is the strongest guy on earth.”
There will be more extra motivation this Saturday, when the Bulls travel to Ellis Park to take on the Lions (7pm kick-off).
Van Rooyen spent five seasons at the Johannesburg side, who went from being out of Super Rugby to reaching the final three years in a row, and he may have some inside information that can set the tone for the Bulls in the scrums.
The Lions have strong depth at No 3, with Carlu Sadie, Ruan Dreyer and Jannie du Plessis.
“I know the mindset there, having been there for a few years. I know Julian (Redelinghuys), who is the scrum coach there, as I played with him as well. They definitely have a good mindset when it comes to the scrum – they also want to dominate, win the hit, get an ‘explode’ when the ball comes in and all those things,” Van Rooyen said.
“We will have our work cut out for us this week, and have to make sure that our scrum system is working well, and that we are ready for the challenge and take them head-on.”
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