Manie Libbok back in starting line-up for Blue Bulls against Griquas
Pote Human made just one change to his starting line-up that will be in action in a Currie Cup match against Griquas at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
Flyhalf Manie Libbok will start at flyhalf for the Blue Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday when they take on Tafel Lager Griquas in round four of the Currie Cup.
Libbok played off the bench last weekend in Nelspruit, where the Blue Bulls edged Phakisa Pumas to claim their first win of the competition and coach Pote Human kept faith in those returning victorious from the Mbombela Stadium. Libbok swops jerseys with Marnitz Boshoff, who will finish the game while Stedman Gans is the only new face in the match day squad.
Gans has been fully integrated since his return from the Blitzboks last month and will play off the bench against the Kimberley side, the same team he made his debut against two seasons ago. He comes in for Jade Stighling. Human said it was easy to reward the Nelspruit victors.
“That was a hard-fought win for us over a much respected opponent at a venue where we battled in the past, so it was the right thing to reward the team who claimed that victory. The swop between Marnitz and Manie is purely tactical as we approach this match against Griquas slightly different,” Human said.
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“Also, it is nice to have Stedman back in the mix and I am keen to see him showing us what he is capable of. Jade did nothing wrong, but with Stedman in, we have a bit more flexibility in the back-line,” Human explained.
The coach held the reins in Kimberley before and warned his players to prepare for an onslaught. He believes Griquas will come at hard at his team.
“They will be smarting after their defeat last weekend and probably have the most momentum of all teams in the competition,” Human concluded.
Ruan Steenkamp, who will lead the team into battle, said they are looking forward to play at home again.
“Our last outing at home did not go well, unfortunately, so we are keen to redeem ourselves. We must perform and I believe we can do so if we stick to our plan and approach and take the game to them. If we play at our pace and on our terms, we will be hard to beat.”
The team is: 15. Divan Rossouw, 14. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Dylan Sage, 12. Johnny Kotze, 11. Rosko Specman, 10. Manie Libbok, 9. Embrose Papier, 8. Tim Agaba, 7. Marco van Staden, 6. Ruan Steenkamp (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Simphiwe Matanzima. Replacements: 16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18. Conraad van Vuuren, 19. Adri Smit, 20. Wihan Vosloo, 21. Andre Warner, 22. Marnitz Boshoff and 23. Stedman Gans.
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