Forgotten Springboks playmaker opens up on All Blacks challenge with the Bulls and his Test ambitions
New Bulls fly-half Curwin Bosch has revealed how his recent stint in France has helped him return to his best form and said he is keen to test himself against the All Blacks.
Towards the end of last season, the Bulls announced that Bosch had joined them on a three-year contract, and he is expected to make his competitive debut for the Pretoria-based side in their eagerly anticipated clash with New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The 29-year-old spent a couple of years in France with Brive and believes his time with the PRO D2 outfit provided the mental reset he needed after initially plying his trade with the Sharks.
‘There’s just no place like home’
“It’s amazing to be back in South Africa,” said Bosch. “The two seasons I spent in France were really good for me, but there’s just no place like home.
“Even Pretoria, which is somewhere I’d never lived before, just feels different. It feels like home.”
The two-Test Springbok revealed that his move to Brive came at exactly the right time in his career.
“The biggest part of it was the mental break,” said Bosch. “It was so good for me mentally to spend a bit of time in France and just get the shackles off and get back to doing what I do best, and that’s play rugby.
“There were no sideshows and no distractions. I could just focus on playing good rugby.”
Bosch believes his French experience helped him reconnect with the instinctive style that made him one of South African rugby’s brightest young stars.
“I just felt a lot more free,” he said. “The last couple of seasons I spent in South Africa, I felt boxed a little bit.
“That time in France freed me up. It took me back to how you play rugby at school. You see the space, and you play the space. That’s when I’m at my best.”
He is now focused on combining that freedom with the experience he has gained over the years.
“I’m older and more experienced now,” said Bosch. “I’m looking forward to testing myself again against the best teams in the world.
Keen to express himself with the Bulls
“I just want to be the best version of myself on the rugby field. The freedom and the knowledge I’ve gained over the last two years can only be beneficial to the Vodacom Bulls.”
Bosch is also excited about the possibility of facing the All Blacks in Saturday’s clash, which is part of the men in black’s Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa.
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“It’s an amazing opportunity,” he said. “The last time the Vodacom Bulls played them was before I was born.
“It’s probably an opportunity of a lifetime to test yourself against the second-best team in the world.”
Despite making his last appearance for the Springboks in 2018, Bosch insists his Test ambitions remain as strong as ever.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “The day those ambitions go away, I’ll stop playing rugby.
“It doesn’t really matter what you say. It’s what you produce on the field. Those actions will speak for everything else.”