CAPE TOWN - Despite nursing the niggles that come with being a 34-year-old No 8 and captain, Duane Vermeulen has been asked to keep going for just a few more weeks – as the pot of gold is visible at the end of the rainbow.
The Currie Cup is one golden pot that Vermeulen would want to hold on January 23, but spending time with his family is even more important.
The Springbok stalwart has made an enormous sacrifice by rejoining the Bulls this year, as it meant that he had to leave his wife Ezel and two young sons behind in Cape Town.
Vermeulen got to see his family last weekend when the Bulls faced Western Province at Newlands, but it would’ve been all too brief as he returned to Pretoria to prepare for Saturday’s clash against the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld (4.30pm kickoff).
Jake White spoke before the WP match about the commitment his skipper has shown to the cause. “You’ve all seen him: he’s played 80, 80, 80 (minutes every game). He’s not staying with his family, who are down in Cape Town and his kids go to school, (and) he doesn’t get to see them as much as he would like,” the Bulls coach said then.
“He’s come in here, he’s given 100 percent. Lives in a hotel and he’s here all the time and doesn’t fly up and down. I mean, what more can you want from a guy? He’s there, he’s fronting up, he’s playing 80 minutes every week.
“It can’t be easy for him, yet he knows it’s important to be the leader and to show the team that he is in. The team sees just how committed he is.”
So, it appeared as if White was preparing to give the Man of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final a breather and let him stay in Cape Town after the WP game, but it was not to be. The former Bok coach, though, said following the Bulls team announcement on Thursday that the break will arrive soon.
“This week (Cheetahs in Pretoria) and next week (Sharks in Durban) are the two tough games for us, as they are the two teams who were closest to us on the log. So, it’s important for us to pull these two games through, and I need his (Vermeulen) experience. If we get that right, then he can take off maybe one or two or three weeks.
“It is Christmas time, and he needs to spend time with his family. His children will be finished with school in a week or two’s time, and then the timing is right for him too. He understands it, and we will have to work out what happens over the next few weeks.”
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