“New” Bulls team face Hurricanes at Loftus in their first SuperRugby match of 2018
The Bulls will start their 2018 Super Rugby campaign on Saturday against the Hurricanes, which is teeming with All Black players.
The Vodacom Bulls face a tough opening assignment on Saturday when they host the Hurricanes in their first Super Rugby match of the new season at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The match starts at 17:15 and is one of three encounters featuring South African teams over the weekend.
Siya Kolisi and his Stormers side will get proceedings under way from a South African point of view when they meet the Waratahs at 10:45 on Saturday in Sydney, before the Lions host the Jaguares at 15:05 in Johannesburg. The Sharks have a bye this weekend.
Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit and fullback SP Marais both return from injury for the Stormers’ encounter with the Waratahs and have been included in a starting team that show four changes from the one that defeated the Jaguares 28-20 last week.
Du Toit comes into the second row to partner JD Schickerling, with Kobus van Dyk starting on the flank and Chris van Zyl and Sikhumbuzo Notshe among the replacements. Marais starts at fullback, with Dillyn Leyds shifted to the wing and JJ Engelbrecht at outside centre. EW Viljoen will provide impact from the bench while Seabelo Senatla gets a rest.
The Lions have made two adjustments to their match-day squad that defeated the Sharks 26-19 last weekend. Andries Ferreira, who was a late withdrawal last Saturday, is back to partner Springbok lock Franco Mostert in the second row.
And on the bench, 21-year-old Junior Springbok scrumhalf Marco Jansen van Vuuren is set to make his competition debut should he get game time.
Bulls coach John Mitchell, in his first Super Rugby outing with the men from Pretoria, has named four capped Springboks in his starting team for the Hurricanes clash, and also included three potential debutants on the bench for the Loftus clash.
Burger Odendaal will lead the team that include Springboks Warrick Gelant, Jesse Kriel, Handré Pollard and Lood de Jager in the starting team, with two more Springboks, in Adriaan Strauss and Marnitz Boshoff, on the bench.
Marco van Staden, Embrose Papier and Divan Rossouw have been selected to play at this level for the first time and will make their Vodacom Super Rugby debuts if they take to the field.
Mitchell said his team is keen to see get going after their bye of last week.
“The wait is finally over for us. We worked hard to get to this point and that work and progress will now be tested against one of the best teams in the competition. It is a tough way to start, but we would not want it any other way,” Mitchell explained.
All the teams:
Waratahs: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Andrew Kellaway, 13. Lalakai Foketi, 12. Kurtley Beale, 11. Curtis Rona, 10. Bernard Foley, 9. Jake Gordon, 8. Michael Wells, 7. Michael Hooper (captain), 6. Ned Hanigan, 5. Rob Simmons, 4. Tom Staniforth, 3. Paddy Ryan, 2. Damien Fitzpatrick, 1. Tom Robertson. Replacements: 16. Hugh Roach, 17. Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18. Shambeckler Vui, 19. Nick Palmer, 20. Jed Holloway, 21. Mitch Short, 22. Bryce Hegarty, 23. Alex Newsome.
Stormers: 15. SP Marais, 14. Dillyn Leyds, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Raymond Rhule, 10. Damian Willemse, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Kobus van Dyk, 6. Siya Kolisi (captain), 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. JD Schickerling, 3. Wilco Louw, 2. Ramone Samuels, 1. Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16. Dean Muir, 17. JC Janse van Rensburg, 18. Carlu Sadie, 19. Chris van Zyl, 20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21. Justin Phillips, 22. George Whitehead, 23. EW Viljoen.
Kick off (SA time): 10:45
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Angus Gardner (AUS)
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Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Sylvian Mahuza, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Cyle Brink, 6. Kwagga Smith, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16. Robbie Coetzee, 17. Dylan Smith, 18. Jacobie Adriaanse, 19. Lourens Erasmus, 20. Hacjivah Dayimani, 21. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22. Howard Mnisi, 23. Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
Jaguares: TBA
Kick off time: 15:05
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SA)
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Bulls: 15. Warrick Gelant, 14. Travis Ismaiel, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Burger Odendaal (captain), 11. Johnny Kotze, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Andre Warner, 8. Hanro Liebenberg, 7. Thembelani Bholi, 6. Roelof Smit, 5. Lood de Jager, 4. RG Snyman, 3. Frans van Wyk, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16. Adriaan Strauss, 17. Lizo Gqoboka, 18. Conraad van Vuuren, 19. Nic de Jager, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Marnitz Boshoff, 23. Divan Rossouw.
Hurricanes: 15. Matt Proctor, 14. Julian Savea, 13. Vince Aso, 12. Ngani Laumape, 11. Wes Goosen, 10. Ihaia West, 9. TJ Perenara, 8. Gareth Evans, 7. Ardie Savea, 6. Brad Shields (captain), 5. Sam Lousi, 4. Vaea Fifita, 3. Ben May, 2. Ricky Ricctelli, 1. Toby Smit. Replacements: 16. James O’Reilly, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Alex Fidow, 19. Murray Douglas, 20. Blade Thomson, 21. Jamie Booth, 22. Beauden Barrett, 23. Ben Lam.
Kick off time: 17:15
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (SA)
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