Although Bulls loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima has shown great promise early in his career, he currently plays the kind of rugby that excites experts.

The 24-year-old loosehead prop proved himself to be an instrumental figure in the Bulls team throughout the season with some key performances and establishing himself as one of the players to look out for in South African rugby. This after some struggles with injury in previous seasons.

Last week, with his man-of-the-match performance in a Currie Cup match against WP in Cape Town, he finally proved that he will soon start knocking on the door for higher honours.

“It’s nice to be back and a top fit again. Especially coming into a new system with a winning culture which we have seen this year. I’m enjoying the game again. It feels awesome and I can’t wait to build on that,” reflected the Eastern Cape-born Matanzima.

While vying for a spot in a team full of talented front-rowers which include Lizo Gqoboka and Gerhard Steenekamp among his positional competitors, Matanzima has added to the healthy internal team competition.

So impressive was Matanzima after his comeback, late last year that he earned a spot in the inaugural Carling Champions Team that took on Kenya at Loftus Versfeld in November. An added feather to his cap was the fact that he was appointed captain of the team that emerged as 85-17 victors over the East African nation, proving his capabilities as a leader.

A strong scrummager, Matanzima is pleased with the progress the Bulls has been making in the set pieces, especially after having to venture into new territory – playing on unfamiliar 4G pitches on their tour of Europe at the start of the United Rugby Championship.

“I don’t think we need to change much in terms of our scrums. Playing in the Northern Hemisphere, with the different interpretations from the refs, it was a bit of a challenge in the previous games, and also playing on those 4G pitches and getting used to that,” he explained.

But Matanzima is looking forward to big scrum battles during the rest of the current season. He believes the Bulls just have to stick to their principles and continue doing what they do best.

“Last year we were at the top during the Carling Currie Cup. I think we are all improving as front row and our forwards coach Russell Winter is doing a good job with us. We are all looking to improve and get better every time,” the young prop concluded.

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