Johannesburg - It’s finally official: Wandisile Simelane will pack up his belongings up at Doornfontein and move the 60-odd kilometers north to Loftus Versfeld for the upcoming season.
Simelane’s transfer from the Emirates Lions to the Blue Bulls has been a well established fact within rugby circles for some months now, with the understanding that only the finer details of the move had to be ironed out by both unions and the player. And that well-known secret was finally confirmed this morning by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union.
Posting on their Twitter account, the union announced: “Wandisile Simelane is a Vodacom Bull. One of the country's brightest young stars, Simelane established himself as an electric, fleet-footed game-breaker. Welcome to Loftus, Wandi.”
The 24-year-old centre made his professional debut for the Lions in 2018, and played 31 times for the Joburg-based union, scoring six tries in the process, at the highest provincial level in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and SuperRugby. Simelane has been touted as a future Springbok – having come through the national junior ranks – and was selected by Bok mentor Jacques Nienaber in the larger squad for the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2021.
🚨 Wandisile Simelane is a Vodacom Bull 🚨 One of the countries brightest young stars, Simelane has established himself as an electric, fleet-footed game breaker 🔥
Welcome to Loftus, Wandi 💥#TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/Sh3XvdrFK6
The Jeppe Boys High alum, however, has yet to replicate the form that earned him that call-up since, and a move to the Bulls could be a positive development for his career ambitions.
Simelane will join newly announced signings, eightman Mihlali Mosi and loose-forward Phumzile Maqondwana, at the Bulls.
Meanwhile, Simelane’s now former union have also been busy this past week in the transfer market. The Lions recently re-signed lock Darrien Landsberg and fullback Andries Coetzee. On Wednesday, they announced that centres Rynhardt Jonker and another worst-kept secret Marius Louw, both formerly of the Sharks, had joined the union.
The Bulls and Lions are both shoring up their squads for a grueling season ahead. Alongside with the United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup commitments, both teams will also participate in the ERCP Champions Cup and second tier Challenge Cup, respectively.