Bulls Currie Cup 2026: Triple Injury Blow Hits Squad

The Bulls have lost captain Nama Xaba to a broken finger for the remainder of the Currie Cup campaign, compounding a crisis that already had hooker Shaun Schürmann and centre PA van Niekerk ruled out for the season with knee injuries suffered in last Saturday's 56-26 hammering against Griquas in Kimberley.

Bulls Captain Xaba Out for Season

Coach Phiwe Nomlomo confirmed the bleak news on Wednesday, with Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg now stepping up to take the captaincy in Xaba's absence. Three starters gone for the season is bad enough. What comes next makes it worse.

No.8 JJ Theron has failed to recover from a knock in time for Saturday's clash against the Lions at UJ Stadium. Scrumhalf Neil le Roux is also unavailable with a niggle, prop Mawande Mdanda carries a wrist injury, and fullback Devon Williams was still being assessed at training at the time Nomlomo spoke to the media. The list, as the coach put it plainly, is just piling up.

Mounting Injuries Plague Squad Depth

The numbers tell the story. Since the SA Rugby U23 Cup triumph two months ago — a competition the Bulls won on the back of depth and squad rotation — Nomlomo says the team has picked up close to 20 injuries. That U23 title, which included a dramatic 33-32 victory over the Lions in the final at Ellis Park, now feels like a distant memory. The Bulls sit bottom of the Currie Cup log after defeats to Boland in Wellington and Griquas in Kimberley, two results that have extinguished the early-season optimism.

The squad strain runs deeper than the injury list. Nomlomo is simultaneously servicing the Currie Cup XV, the SA Rugby U20 Cup campaign that kicks off this weekend, and the Bulls URC group preparing to host the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld on 15 August. Three teams, one pool of players. It is, as he acknowledged, all hands on deck.

Lions Arrive in Strong Form

The Lions arrive at UJ Stadium in contrasting form — they were beaten narrowly by the Cheetahs in their opener before putting 52 points on the Pumas last weekend. Nomlomo was measured about the U23 final connection, insisting it carries no weight in a Currie Cup context. These are different competitions, different challenges, and both sets of players know each other well enough that familiarity cuts both ways. A derby is a derby — it carries its own weight regardless of history.

For Nomlomo's battered squad, Saturday is about stopping the rot. The Bulls face the Lions at UJ Stadium on Saturday, 1 August, at 17:05 SAST.