Henning Gericke's trump card for Bulls' push for final: Invite 6 legends to say 'hello'

• Bulls mental guru Henning Gericke potentially played a trump card in his side's Rainbow Cup meeting with the Stormers: inviting several legends to attend this week's captain's run. 
• John Mametsa, Thys Lourens, Heinrich Rodgers, Lourens Campher, Pote Fourie and Willie Kahts were all in attendance to inspire the latest generation to emulate the success they achieved at Loftus.
• Bulls skipper Duane Vermeulen hailed the the gesture as inspirational as he and his team-mates push for a place in the Rainbow Cup final.

If the Stormers are on the receiving end of renewed Bulls passion on Friday evening, they'll have to assign some of the blame to Henning Gericke.

The franchise's mental guru this week came up with another potential masterstroke for injecting extra energy into his troops' efforts to seal a place in the Rainbow Cup final: inviting six Bulls legends to attend the captain's run.

John Mametsa (wing), Willie Kahts (hooker), Lourens Campher (prop), Thys Lourens (flanker), Pote Fourie (flanker) and Heinrich Rodgers (prop) all made over 100 appearances in the blue jersey, making them ideal candidates to remind the 2021 vintage of what is at stake.

"It was Henning's idea. It's part of what he brings to the week-in and week-out preparation of our team," said Jake White, the Bulls' director of rugby.

"But let's not forget that it's the buy-in of everybody that's crucial. We're big on tradition and very big on old-school values. And we're very aware that we're extremely lucky to play in the stadium and the jersey that we do. 

"Henning instigates it, it's fantastic."

For skipper Duane Vermeulen - the epitome of a player who wears his heart on his sleeve - the symbolism is massive, even if various of his team-mates never heard of the six men.

"It was an amazing gesture," said the Springbok stalwart.

"It means so much for all of us. These are men who all had over a century of caps behind their names. What I appreciated the most is that those men took the time to come and give each of us a handshake. 

"Ironically, only about two to three of our whole squad actually knows who these guys are. The rest had no clue who they were meeting! But it didn't mean that the significance of the event went over their heads. The youngsters really appreciated our legends taking an interest in their progress."

Importantly, the group of golden oldies are also excellent examples of the Bulls' tradition of success over the past few decades.

Lourens, for example, won an astonishing seven outright Currie Cup titles - sharing the trophy with Transvaal in 1971 - which included three as captain.

More recently, Mametsa - who combined a superb work ethic with a ruthless nose for the tryline - was a key member to the dynasty built by Heyneke Meyer, claiming three Currie Cups and a Super Rugby triumph.

"Those men left the Bulls jersey in a very healthy state. They were the pioneers of success," said Vermeulen.

"It's now our players' time to build their own legacies and hopefully this meeting inspires us to leave the jersey in an even better state."

White hopes the legends enjoyed the experience.

"They loved it. I can just imagine the memories this visit must've evoked for them. It was a wonderful gesture," he said.

"If we put it in perspective, these guys played a huge number of games. Thys Lourens won almost eight Currie Cups. It's not a bad reflection of what this union has achieved in the past.

"I really hope we channel this energy and use it as a positive influence on us against the Stormers."  

Kick-off is at 19:00.