The Vodacom Bulls are poised to ‘bring the heat’ to Cape Town by letting loose a prodigious talent in the Currie Cup clash against DHL Western Province on Saturday.
Having turned their Currie Cup campaign around with three successive wins, the Bulls will travel to Cape Town on a high, looking to get a first win in the north-south derby this season.
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Aiding the Bulls in their quest is an in-form Sibongile Novuka, the rookie winger fresh from scoring a match-winning hat-trick against the Sharks in Durban.
The 25-year-old, who was raised in Alice and attended Nzululwazi Secondary School, started his journey towards professional rugby in the Varsity Shield, first playing for the University of Fort Hare, before moving to UKZN.
Novuka was plucked from the tournament by the Bulls and has since set about proving his ability at the top level, starring in the Currie Cup and even scoring in the Champions Cup victory over Lyon in Pretoria.
During a Bulls conference on Tuesday, Novuka shared how he came to earn the nickname ‘Izzy’, so named after the famous ex-Wallabies fullback.
“It was when I went for Craven Week trails in Grade 11,” explained Novuka. “I was playing very well and I was tall. So the coach at the time told me that I was playing like Israel Folau. He gave me the nickname so ever since then I have been Izzy.”
While Western Province go into the game on the back of two losses, Novuka knows how important a win in Cape Town could be, especially ahead of next weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals against the DHL Stormers.
“They are a really good side. They are playing really well. I watched last week when they were playing against the Pumas and they played very well,” said Novuka.
“I am hoping that we will bring the heat on Saturday. We want to play some good rugby before next week. That would be good for the URC side.”
Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images