New front row, fullback for Bulls against their second Irish opponents in Galway

The Bulls have named their side to face Connacht Rugby in Round 2 of the United Rugby Championship on Friday, October 1.

The South African side will take on the Irish team at The Sportsground in Galway, with kick-off at 20:35 (SA Time).

Bulls director of rugby, Jake White, has made a handful of changes to the team that featured in the opening round last week. Arguably, the most notable of the changes includes Springbok, Ruan Combrinck, earning his first starting berth for the side after making his debut off the bench during the domestic Carling Currie Cup campaign.

Combrinck will start at fullback, alongside another new starter in Stravino Jacobs, who will don the No11 jersey.

The forwards will buckle down with a new-look front row as loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka, hooker Joe van Zyl and tighthead prop Jacques van Rooyen will be part of the starting XV.

From the substitutes’ bench, scrumhalf Embrose Papier will make a welcome return after not playing for the last few months due to a foot injury.

“We have another tough encounter ahead of us. To face two top Irish sides back-to-back is no easy challenge. Connacht is a strong, well-coached side; and they will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to Cardiff in the opening round,” said White.

According to White, his team has put the defeat to Leinster behind them, and they look forward to testing themselves, again this week, against another quality outfit in the United Rugby Challenge.

The match will be televised on SuperSport.

Starting XV: Backline:

 15. Ruan Combrinck (Tuine), 14. Cornal Hendricks (Northam), 13. Lionel Mapoe (Pretoria), 12. Harold Vorster (Northam), 11. Stravino Jacobs (Harlequins), 10. Johan Goosen ABE Midas Naka Bulle), 9. Zak Burger (Tuine);

Forwards: 1. Lizo Gqoboka (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), 2. Joe van Zyl (Harlequins), 3. Jacques van Rooyen (Tuine), 4. Walt Steenkamp (Betway Centurion), 5. Ruan Nortje (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), 6. Marcell Coetzee (Captain, ABE Midas Naka Bulle), 7. Arno Botha (ABE Midas Naka Bulle) and 8. Elrigh Louw (Tuks).

Replacements: 16. Bismarck du Plessis (Betway Centurion), 17. Simphiwe Matanzima (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), 18. Mornay Smith (Betway Centurion), 19. Janko Swanepoel (Pretoria), 20. Jacques du Plessis (Tuks), 21. Embrose Papier (Tuks), 22. Chris Smith (Harlequins) and 23. Stedman Gans (Northam).