Comment by Ashfak Mohamed
The first time I watched Handré Pollard properly in action was as an 18-year-old schoolboy in 2012.
And no, it wasn’t even for Paarl Gimnasium, but rather the Junior Springboks – known as the SA Under-20 side back then.
Pollard was already the SA Schools captain a year earlier, and led his Gim’s first XV, so he had been talked about as a future star.
But to throw a matric pupil into the red-hot cauldron of a Junior World Championship, on home soil in the Western Cape as well, was asking a lot.
Then-coach Dawie Theron had just lost his star flyhalf, Johan Goosen, to a knee injury while playing Super Rugby for the Cheetahs, and he had no hesitation on calling on Pollard.
That team, despite losing the opener to Ireland, went on to win the title. Captained by loose forward Wiaan Liebenberg, the ‘Baby Boks’ included future Test players such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, Steven Kitshoff, Marvin Orie, Jan Serfontein, Dillyn Leyds, Travis Ismaiel, Raymond Rhule and even future overseas internationals in Paul Willemse, Allan Dell, Oli Kebble and Braam Steyn.
What already stood out from Pollard at that young age was his temperament. He had a calm head on those young shoulders, and played a significant part in the journey to the trophy at Newlands as they beat New Zealand 22-16 in the final – with the man himself slotting four penalties and a drop goal.
And the rest, of course, is history – and now that the Bulls confirmed on Saturday that he will join them again, it will be like manna from heaven for coach Jake White, who has been searching for a top-class flyhalf since he arrived in Pretoria in 2020.
He thought Goosen would be that man, and although the former Bok has had his memorable moments, he has been bedevilled by injuries and is currently on the sidelines once more.
So, it’s almost a full-circle moment for Pollard in that he will effectively replace an injured Goosen as the first-choice flyhalf – just like he did for the Baby Boks in 2012.
HE’S COMING HOME! 😍🏆
Pollard is back where he belongs! 🔥
“I can’t see myself anywhere else in South Africa…”
Don’t miss the full story ➡️ https://t.co/oOgUBMUqKo #ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/CXbAHGjass
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) March 1, 2025
There have been rumours about Serfontein also returning to the Bulls next season, so it will be a reunion of note for the 2012 SA Under-20 teammates.
A potential Bulls backline could read Embrose Papier, Handré Pollard, Canan Moodie, Jan Serfontein, Stedman Gans, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux… Now, if that line-up doesn’t make the Pretoria side serious contenders for the Champions Cup, then nothing will.
But is coming back to his old team the right move for Pollard? He apparently rejected much higher offers from clubs in Japan and elsewhere to be back in South Africa.
He is turning 31 later in March, so he still has a good three to five years of rugby in him, and could conceivably make it to the 2031 Rugby World Cup in the United States.
I doubt that money came into the equation, though, as he has been earning big bucks at Montpellier and now Leicester Tigers.
Perhaps being closer to family and living with his wife Marise and son Hunter – who will turn one in May – in South Africa is a personal decision that he wanted to make.
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In terms of the rugby on the pitch, though, it is going to be a major adjustment for Pollard, as Leicester only play in the English Premiership and Champions Cup in Europe.
His body may have preferred the less intense arena of Japanese club rugby, and he was close to joining Suntory Sungoliath, where Cheslin Kolbe plies his trade – while I wouldn’t mind to see Pollard turn out for his ‘home team’, the Stormers, one day.
He seemed to reject that notion in the Bulls statement on Saturday, though, saying: “This team and franchise have always had a special place in my heart, and I can’t see myself anywhere else in South Africa.”
The Bulls’ schedule has been a huge talking point over the last two seasons, especially the current one, which White has said “no other team” have had to endure – playing seven out of their first nine United Rugby Championship games away from home and enduring overseas trips either side of a Springbok November tour.
White had to virtually ‘sacrifice’ the Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton last season due to a busy calendar, and sent a weakened team to England.
Pollard, though, is a proven match-winner at the highest level, and should be managed carefully to ensure that he is available for the Champions Cup games and the big URC encounters against the likes of Leinster, Munster, Glasgow, Stormers and Sharks.
Of course, there is the 2027 World Cup and ‘three-peat’ quest on the horizon with the Boks too, and having Pollard at home will be ideal for Rassie Erasmus to manage his workload as well.
Pollard will also face serious competition from the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok, Jordan Hendrikse and others for the Bok No 10 jersey, so it doesn’t hurt that he can take them on directly in SA and prove that this ‘old dog’ still has the game to retain his place.
