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Bulls

The Bulls, for sponsorship reasons known as the Vodacom Bulls, are a South African rugby union team competing in the SupeRugby competition. They are based in Pretoria and play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld. Prior to 1998, the Bulls competed in the then-Super 12 as the Blue Bulls, as in those years South Africa was represented in the Super 12 by its top four Currie Cup unions instead of franchises.

The current team captain is lock Victor Matfield. They also won the 2010 super 14 which was the last of that particular competition because the competition will be upgraded to super 15 in 2011. They have won three super titles and is among the most successful teams in the super rugby history with three titles , a feat they share with the Auckland blues of New Zealand.

They are widely regarded as the most successful super 14 team in its history with three out of the five titles being won by them.

The Bulls play all their home matches at the Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, which is also the home of the Blue Bulls during the Currie Cup season. The stadium is also a regular host for Springbok Test matches, and was a venue during the 1995 Rugby World Cup which South Africa hosted.

Loftus was a venue for Pool D matches including France v Tonga, Scotland v Tonga and France v Scotland. Loftus was also used twice during the finals stages - for the All Blacks v Scotland quarter-final and the England v France third place play-off.

The ground has been used for rugby since 1908, and in 1932 the stadium was renamed to Loftus Versfeld in honor of Robert Owen Loftus Versfeld, the founder of organized rugby in Pretoria.

The stadium has undergone numerous renovations over the years, with some taking place during the 1970s. The stadium is capable of holding 51,762 spectators.

The team is centred around the Blue Bulls union (Pretoria plus Limpopo Province), but also draws players from the Falcons (representing the East Rand). Through 2005, the Bulls also drew players from the Pumas (Mpumalanga) and Leopards (North West), but in the realignment of franchise areas that came from the expansion of Super 12 to Super 14, these unions were moved into the franchise area of the Cats, now known as the Lions.

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