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Ex-Bok saddened by Bulls' recent woes

Cape Town - Former Springbok centre Wynand Olivier is saddened by how his former team, the Bulls, have struggled in recent years.

Olivier, 34, was part of the Bulls teams that won Super Rugby in 2007, 2009 and 2010 and represented the Pretoria union for close to a decade.

During his time at Loftus Versfeld, the Blue Bulls also won the Currie Cup in the 2003, 2004, 2006 (shared) and 2009 seasons.

The Bulls have however struggled in recent years and finished 15th in the Super Rugby competition last year, winning just four of 15 games.

The 2009 Currie Cup was also their last success in this competition.

Olivier, who played 38 Tests for the Springboks, left the Bulls in 2013 to play for French side Montpellier.

He then joined English club Worcester Warriors in 2015 and is planning on playing one more season there before retiring.

Olivier said he welcomed the Bulls’ decision to appoint John Mitchell as their executive of rugby last year but was not happy to have witnessed their recent struggles.

“I think the union has a vision to again win trophies. You’ll never know what goes on in the inner circles but it's still sad and frustrating what is going on at the Bulls,” Olivier said in an interview with Netwerk24.

Olivier also called for Bulls legends like Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha to get involved.

He revealed that he needs to stay abroad for one more year in order to attain a British passport and that he has no plans to return to South Africa once his playing days are over.

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