Ruan Nortje eager to grow into captaincy role

The 24-year-old has been earmarked as a leader by Bulls boss Jake White and officially took over the reins from Marcell Coetzee in November.

However, Nortje immediately faced criticism, as the Bulls lost three consecutive games before righting the ship against the lowly Dragons last weekend.

"The biggest thing for me is that I don't read any articles about me," Nortje told rugby365.com.

"I don™t have Facebook. I don't really read into that stuff and I think that is the best thing for me personally. I know myself much better than anybody us, so I know what I am capable of and I know my teammates believe in me and that is the most important thing.

"It's all learning. I am obviously still getting used to the captaincy role, but it is something that excites me very much. It's just about me constantly learning and growing every weekend.

"Sometimes it doesn't go your way or you get a bit of criticism. It is always going to be part of rugby, so you shouldn't read too much into that stuff."

Knowing that you're only as good as your last game, Nortje has focused all his attention on the Bulls' upcoming Champions Cup clash against Exeter Chiefs in Pretoria on Saturday. The towering lock is under no illusions as to the challenge the English club will provide.

"They are the 2020 champions of the Premiership and the Champions Cup, so we know what is coming," added Nortje.

"It's a world-class team. They want to outwork you, they want to build phase after phase and they want to take you on up front. They want to kill you in all facets of the game.

"For us, it is just about focussing on what we do best and keeping our penalties as low as possible. I think it is going to be a massive physical battle. We will have to make a step up in all departments."