Home is where the heart is for Bulls’ Jannes Kirsten

JANNES Kirsten has had an intriguing last few years.

Having made the big decision to leave his Pretoria home and join Exeter Chiefs in England in 2019 – having made a detour via Toyota Verblitz in Japan – he enjoyed instant success.

Exeter did the “double”, doing the unthinkable as they won both the English Premiership and European Cup in the 2019-20 season.

But after four seasons at Sandy Park, Kirsten opted to return to his roots and rejoin the Bulls from July 1 last year.

That excitement, though, was soon tempered by a foot injury in training that led to an extended period on the sidelines.

In fact, the 30-year-old loose forward – who is equally comfortable at lock – only made his return to action in the recent 61-24 win over the Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld.

“It wasn’t the best start for me, coming back (to SA). Pre-season and everything went well, and then I got injured for a few months. It was a while since I played, but it was a big anticipation. It was a great relief, and luckily everything went well – feeling good,” Kirsten said this week ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against leaders Glasgow at Loftus (2pm kickoff).

“It’s just good to be back home. It’s been coming for a while, and I’m glad to be back finally. It felt familiar, but different, and it’s one of the reasons I came back. I was born in Pretoria and raised here, and Loftus feels like home,” Kirsten said.

“Obviously a bit stressed before the game, as you should as it keeps you sharp. It was a good game to get back. I played 20 minutes and everything felt good. The altitude ... growing up here, it didn’t bother me. But coming back now, I did feel it.

“But it felt good. It’s a difficult time of the season to come back as the guys have been playing well, but I hope to contribute to the team.”

Kirsten hopes to bring that title-winning experience from Exeter to help the Bulls get over the line and clinch the URC trophy, having already been knocked out in the Champions Cup quarter-finals by Northampton.

They are currently fourth on the log on 51 points, trailing behind Glasgow (58), Leinster (54) and Munster (53), with league games remaining against Glasgow, Benetton (May 18 in Pretoria) and the Sharks (June 1 in Durban).

So, it’s all to play for, starting with the Scottish table-toppers on Saturday.

“Rather than looking at what you must do better, there is a reason that whatever you did during the season got you into the playoffs. So, it doesn’t mean that you must go out and improve something significantly,” Kirsten said.

“The big thing, in my experience, teams that can keep on doing the basics continuously, have good discipline – the things that don’t really need talent – be as accurate as possible for 80 minutes.

“We are in a good position as we still have our fate in our own hands. We’ve got to win to get a home playoff, but it’s not about what other teams have to do.

GAME WEEK 🔥 LET'S GO 🤝@Vodacom #URC #BackTheBulls pic.twitter.com/U0LgGI1BNF

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) May 6, 2024

“If we do our part, we can really push for those home playoffs. Glasgow are on top of the log, so it’s great to play them so close to the playoffs to see where we are at the moment.

“Glasgow bring a big tempo and big set-piece threat. I think they are the best mauling team in the competition.

“But the important is that against teams that bring a lot of tempo, you have to stay in control. So, it’s not really about adapting, but keeping that control, keeping the ball and doing things on your own terms.

“The most important thing is to stay strong in the set-piece, maintain the ball and stay in control of what you are doing.

The man of the hour is sticking around till 2027 👀😏#BackTheBulls | #DefendTheHerd pic.twitter.com/Xp1n0c7HcY

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) May 8, 2024

“They do stretch you on defence, and target the areas of space. They create two sides of attack, and communication is going to be very important in this game – looking up and seeing what’s in front of you,” Kirsten said.

“They see where the space is and attack there, so it’s important for us to stay in the system and do what we trained this week: being balanced on defence.

“We like to have a little bit of line-speed, and it’s going to be a good challenge to try to shut them down.”