Vermeulen on his way to the Bulls

Cape Town - The Bulls have confirmed the signing of Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen via their Twitter page.

On Friday the Pretoria franchise tweeted: "Big DV is coming".

“Duane is an amazing rugby player, and is well respected around the world. We firmly believe that his abrasive style of play and experience will add immense value to our Super Rugby campaign next year. At the age of 32, he is a seasoned veteran, that just gets better with every season,” Blue Bulls high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg, said via a press statement.

Vermeulen, 32, is currently in Japan where he plays for the Kubota Spears.

He missed the recent Rugby Championship due to his club commitments in the Far East, but will be available for the Springboks on their upcoming year-end tour to Europe.

Vermeulen said he was excited to join the Bulls: “2019 is going to be a massive year for us and I’m keen on starting it with an impact at Loftus. The Bulls have always been a team that I have respected and I’m looking forward to joining the family."

The 42-Test capped star loose forward was earlier also linked to a move back to the Stormers, whom he represented between 2009 and 2015.

The Bulls did not state for how long Vermeulen had signed, but an earlier report indicated that he will play two Super Rugby seasons (2019 and 2020) at Loftus Versfeld.

It is indeed a big signing. It all depends on fitness. If fit, he is the best 8 in the game. A big boost for Rassie this November.

BB

It obviously is a good signing for the Bulls - but in recent years Vermeulen was NOT a good signing for Toulon because of recurrent injuries.   If he can keep fit and off the injury list he would indeed be a good signing.

What worries me with Japan returnees is that they are injury-prone due to fitness deficiency.   In Japan players play rugby every 14 days and they consequently have stamina problems on return often causing longer term injuries,   Pollard and a string of players coming back from Japan are examples of that.

There is one problem with Vermeulen - he was a house on fire in the first two England tests in June and after the second test he complained about aches and pains - there were no real injuries recorded.   In the third test he was not much more than a name on the team-sheet.   Was it a sign of fitness problems ?

I would not support his selection for the WC squad if he did not have a SR series under his belt.   If he survives the season relatively unscathed, it would be a clear indication that  he will make it in the WC tests next year as well.

Good luck to the big guy.

As far as I am aware there will not be June internationals next year,  The SR will be completed in Late June/Early July and the RC will start in late July  and will only comprise three tests like in 2015.  There may be one o r two additional tests - but those will not be part of the RC

My thinking on the fitness issue is the same as yours = even though put in slightly different words. 

Bluebok, Mike is ignorant of every aspect of Japanese rugby. The game is significantly faster than Super rugby with end-to-end running. There's is almost no kicking. Think how arduous that must be for a forward. Mike is one of those who anticipated Japan would be fodder in the World Cup, because he deems their rugby backward. Even now he is behind the times. 

faster has to do with running fitness - zero to do with rugby fitness.  

So a faster is indeed relevant to Japan rugby and they are so good why are they the bottom of the log team in Super Rugby?

I do not know whether I am behind times because I believe in reality, but one thing is clear and Japan is not a powerhouse in world rugby - the Springbok loss against them in 2015 has more to do with a collapse of rugby under Meyer than with Japan being competitive.

If what AO writes is even remotely true why is Japan not a powerhouse in Seven Rugby??????????

AO please get off cloud 9 and get real for a change.           

You said they come back fat and out of shape. The opposite has been true. It isn't the most physical league, but is great for general conditioning.

The 3rd test was a washout. The rain reduced it to a scrappy kicking game. Neither side played particularly well. Duane had many good moments though. We simply didn't control possession well enough. Aimless kicking didn't help. 

Thanks - I have not seen the announcement as to the RC and assumed that the same  programme as in 2015 would apply,   A further three tests would be of great benefit to the large number of younger players in the squad.    

AO

The unfit description applies to many of the returnees - the fat to quite a number as well.   That situation applies to many players who went to Japan and got injured early in the SR series and even in  the preparations for the SR series.