Northern Transvaal The team as it is known today has its beginnings in 1938 when the then Northern Transvaal Rugby Union broke away from the Transvaal Rugby Football Union to gain status as an independent rugby union. The new team was named Northern Transvaal and donned light blue jerseys with a red
Barberton Daisy emblem. However, in their very first match, they played in the red and gold hooped jerseys of the Pretoria Combined team that often "locked horns" with teams touring South Africa (red and gold being the colors of Pretoria).
Lion Cup Northern Transvaal participated in the Lion Cup between 1983 and 1994. The
Lion Cup was a domestic rugby union knock-out competition held in South Africa. Northern Transvaal tasted success in the competition on three occasions, winning the competition in
1985,
1990 and
1991. They also finished as runners-up three times in
1987,
1988 and
1989. Northern Transvaal claimed the Lion Cup 62–6 against in 1991 which is one of the biggest victories ever in a final.
Currie Cup / Central Series The Northern Transvaal rugby team participated in the
Currie Cup / Central Series from 1986 to 1994. The competition saw the top Currie Cup teams play the Currie Cup Central A teams, with the Currie Cup team with the best playing record awarded the Percy Frames Trophy. Northern Transvaal was the most successful team, claiming six consecutive titles between 1987 and 1992.
Early franchise history Prior to the professional
Super Rugby competition,
Northern Transvaal competed in the
Super 10, which was a tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
Tonga and
Western Samoa, which ran from 1993 to 1995. The top three teams from the previous
Currie Cup season qualified for each of the Super 10 tournaments. Northern Transvaal competed in the
1993 season, where they were grouped in Pool B alongside
Transvaal,
New South Wales,
North Harbour and
Waikato. Transvaal finished at the top of the pool, with Northern Transvaal finishing third, behind New South Wales. Northern Transvaal did not qualify for the Super 10 (Southern Hemisphere competition)#1994 Super 10 or
1995 seasons.
Early Professional Era (1996–2005) After rugby union went professional, the Super 10 tournament was restructured. The
Super 12 was created, and was to be competed by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Both Australia and New Zealand adopted new franchise models for their teams, whereas South Africa chose to use the Currie Cup to decide what teams were to be promoted in the Super 12 each season. Competing in the inaugural Super 12 season of
1996, Northern Transvaal were one of the 12 teams. The side won eight of their 11 games and finished third on the table – behind only Auckland and Queensland. Jannie Kruger finished the season in the top three leading point-scorers, behind only
Matt Burke and
John Eales. The side was however soundly defeated in a semi-final by the
Auckland Blues, with the final score being 48 points to 11. The game was played at
Eden Park in
Auckland. After their fairly successful performance in the opening competition, the subsequent competition of 1997 saw them with three wins and three draws from 11 games. They finished at eighth. Following the 1997 season, South Africa adopted a similar franchise system to that of Australia and New Zealand's, abolishing the Currie Cup promotion system in favour of creating new franchises. The Bulls were formed as one of the four new teams. They did not make the semis in the
1998 season. The Bulls were considered one of the worst teams in the Super 12 competition, finishing last or second to last for five consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2003. In
2002, they became the first team ever to go through an entire Super Rugby season without winning a single game. This record remained until the
Lions repeated the feat during the
2010 season. After finishing fourth in the inaugural competition, they did not make the semis again until the years 2003. The Bulls finished in 6th place in both 2003 and 2004, though still missing out on a finals position. They equalled there 1996 performance in
2005, although there was a very poor start to the season, it was followed by six straight wins to earn them a semi-final berth, where they were defeated by the
New South Wales Waratahs.
Bryan Habana finished in the top three try-scorers by the end of the season, and was short-listed for IRB player of the year.
Super 14 Era (2006–10) in Perth, Australia in 2006 In
2006, the Super 12 became the Super 14, with the addition of two new franchises, the
Cheetahs and the
Western Force. By the last round of the 2006 season, the Bulls, along with the
Brumbies and Sharks were all in contention to take the fourth and final position on the ladder to make the semi-finals. After the Brumbies were defeated 33 to 3 by the
Crusaders, the Bulls or Sharks could mathematically take the fourth spot. The Bulls defeated the
Stormers at
Newlands in
Cape Town 43 points to 10, which ensured they went through to the semi-finals. The Bulls travelled to
Christchurch where they were defeated 35 to 15 at
Jade Stadium and knocked out of the finals. The Bulls lost their first game of the
2007 Super 14 season, going down to the Sharks in
Durban 17 points to 3. Entering week 14, the last round of the regular season, the Bulls were chasing an unlikely 72-point win over the Queensland Reds in order to move into second place and get a home semi-final. At Loftus, the Bulls defeated the Reds 92 points to 3, with the 89-point margin of victory setting a new Super rugby record. The South African teams withdrew from the competition entirely, making the Bulls the only South African winners of any form of the Super Rugby trophy.
Pro14 and United Rugby Championship Era (2021–present) The
Pro14 Rainbow Cup was announced as an end-of-season cup competition to introduce the South African teams after their withdrawal from Super Rugby. After the regular season the top of the South African log Bulls faced European top Benetton in the final in Italy. The Bulls lost their first match in Europe as well as the Pro14 Rainbow Cup final 35–8. The
2021–22 season was a tough start for the Bulls with two straight losses in Europe against
Leinster 31-3 and
Connacht 34–7. The Bulls got their first win in Europe on 9 October 2021 beating
Cardiff Blues 29–19. They went on to finish in 4th place on the overall standings after regular season, securing a home quarter-final. ==Rivalries==