Marco van Staden against Siya Kolisi at Newlands in Blue Bulls’ first Currie Cup match

Rugby connoisseurs certainly could not have asked for much more, because on Saturday at Newlands there will be enough duels to make every expert of the game’s mouth water.

Firstly, it is going to be a powerful battle between the two front rows consisting of Jacques van Rooyen, Johann Grobbelaar and Trevor Nyakane against Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe.

Then the lineout battle where Walt Steenkamp and Ruan Nortjé will play against Salmaaan Moerat and JD Schickerling.

And then the interesting duel between the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and the upcoming Blue Bulls superstar Marco van Staden, who is currently considered by many rugby fans to be in a class of his own as a fetcher, while no other loose forward can beat him in terms of his work rate.

Add to this the battle at scrumhalf between Ivan van Zyl, who is currently in the best shape of his career, against Herschel Jantjies, the man who replaced him in the Springbok team and cost him a place in the 2019 World Cup group.

Then there is the battle in midfield where Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans will face Rikus Pretorius and Dan du Plessis‚ while the Bulls’ rising star at fullback, David Kriel, will want to prove that no one in Pretoria actually misses Warrick Gelant.

Johan Grobbelaar makes a return to the Bulls pack and will start at hooker for their opening Carling Currie Cup clash against Western Province at Newlands. Bulls Director of Rugby, Jake White has tweaked his match day squad with the inclusion of Grobbelaar while Chris Smith retains the no.10 jersey after an impressive showing last week.

The recently crowned Super Rugby Unlocked champions now set their sights on the Carling Currie Cup which the Pretoria franchise last won in 2009, and they will be determined to bag a full house of points in what marks Newlands swansong season.

The rest of the starting line-up remains unchanged.

Amongst the replacements, Corniel Els shifts to the bench and will provide cover at hooker while Clinton Swart retains the number 22 jersey.

“We achieved our first goal of the post-pandemic season and now we shift our focus to securing the Currie Cup with a massive target on our backs,” said White when he announced his team.

He added that there are not many teams that can travel to Newlands as favourites, which makes the Bulls’ job harder.

WP head coach John Dobson probably had a psychological game in mind when he named three extra substitutes. His final 23-man squad will probably only be known on Saturday.

Kick-off is 19:00 on Saturday.

The Bulls team

15. David Kriel, 14. Travis Ismaiel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Ivan van Zyl, 8. Duane Vermeulen (c), 7. Arno Botha, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Walt Steenkamp, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16. Corniel Els, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Marcel van der Merwe, 19. Sintu Manjezi, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Clinton Swart, 23. Marco Jansen van Vuren.

The WP team

15. Warrick Gelant; 14. Seabelo Senatla‚ 13. Dan du Plessis‚ 12. Rikus Pretorius‚ 11. Angelo Davids; 10. Damian Willemse‚ 9. Herschel Jantjies; 8. Juarno Augustus‚ 7. Ernst van Rhyn‚ 6. Siya Kolisi (captain); 5. JD Schickerling‚ 4. Salmaaan Moerat; 3. Frans Malherbe‚ 2. Bongi Mbonambi‚ 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16. Scarra Ntubeni‚ 17. Ali Vermaak‚ 18. Kwenzo Blose‚ 19. Neethling Fouche‚ 20. David Meihuizen‚ 21. Chris van Zyl‚ 22. Jaco Coetzee‚ 23. Marcel Theunissen; 24. Godlen Masimla‚ 26. Tim Swiel‚ 26. Ruhan Nel.