He may have battled a bit with claiming a few kick-offs, but Bulls No 8 Cameron Hanekom showed what he is all about when he took the very first one of the match against the Stormers on Saturday.
The 22-year-old from Ceres somehow made his way through four defenders as he spun around and then raced over the halfway line to immediately put the Bulls on the front foot.
That set the tone for the rest of the game, and while he admitted he was upset about his handling errors, he was a deserved Player of the Match in the Bulls’ 33-32 United Rugby Championship victory over their arch rivals at a packed Cape Town Stadium.
Cameron Hanekom = BUILT DIFFERENT 💪🔥
This is how you set the tone for a North v South derby 💥@Vodacom #URC | #STOvBUL pic.twitter.com/d3t2gGQBbt
Hanekom enhanced his chances of pushing Jasper Wiese for the Springbok No 8 jersey as he carried with purpose, won a few breakdown steals and was busy in defence as he edged another Test contender, Stormers No 8 Evan Roos, on the day.
“I must say, I was a bit frustrated with myself... stupid errors that I made. It’s like small tweaks I can make in my game to just improve as a player, and get better for the team – some kicks I should’ve caught,” Hanekom told SuperSport TV afterwards.
“But at the end of the day, it’s a collective thing at the moment. Without the players next to me, I would never have the confidence to go and try to get through the line.
“We had a lot of pressure coming here, as we had a couple of losses in a row here at Cape Town.
“But we just told each other that we’ve got to stick to the basics, forget about what happened in the past and play for what’s coming up now.
“The boys stuck together as a collective unit and got over the line – I’m happy, and very proud of each and every one of us.”
Bulls coach Jake White praised Hanekom’s display. “Especially from the first kick-off... That is like a statement. Everyone knows he can carry and how good he is, and it reminded me a bit of Nick Koster, when he was at Bishops.
“Everyone spoke about Nick Koster, and when Rondebosch played them, he caught the ball from the kickoff and ran through everybody.
“That just shows a sign of a good player. People expect him to do it, and he still does it.
“There were things... He tries to do too much sometimes, but that’s what happens when you’re young.”
Now the Sharks are up next for the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (5pm kick-off), where Hanekom will come up against a whole host of outstanding loose forwards such as Bok captain Siya Kolisi, Phepsi Buthelezi, James Venter and Tshituka brothers Vincent and Emmanuel.
A thriller right to the very end 🍿
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 8, 2025
The Vodacom Bulls hold on to win in Cape Town 👏👏#VURC pic.twitter.com/uV8q7n4R2x
“We’ve got a few work-ons, some stupid errors where we gave away soft points. But you are never going to get that perfect game, and that is what we are striving for,” Hanekom said.
“It’s just getting back to the drawing board and trying to improve. Sharks next weekend is a big one coming up again, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”