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Newcomer lock selected in Bulls starting line-up against Lions

One of the Bulls' young lock acquisitions, who reported at Loftus Versfeld from Bloemfontein this week, was selected by Jake White in the starting line-up to play against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Walt Steenkamp has been named at lock and will make his debut for the Bulls when they travel to Johannesburg to face the Lions in Round 5 of Super Rugby Unlocked at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Steenkamp slots in at no.5 in the absence of former Junior Springbok Ruan Nortje, who is being rested due to a little injury niggle. Steenkamp has stuck his hand up during training and now gets his opportunity to impress in a team that is enjoying their current brand of play.

The lineout has proven an effective attacking platform for the men in blue, with the Pretoria based franchise boasting a 95% success rate while only losing fewer than one lineout on their own throw in four matches to date.

The rest of the match day team remains the same as the Bulls look to remain consistent in their performances with two matches left before the conclusion of Super Rugby Unlocked.

“The players have done well in correcting the ship after a slow start against the Griquas and Cheetahs which is testament to their desire to go the whole nine yards and secure silverware. However, our job is not yet done and we will have to have our wits about us when we face the Lions who will be confident after a strong performance last weekend,” said Bulls Director of Rugby, Jake White.

Kick-off for Saturday’s game is 19:00.

Bulls vs Lions: 15. David Kriel, 14. Travis Ismaiel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Ivan van Zyl, 8. Duane Vermeulen (C), 7. Elrigh Louw, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Walt Steenkamp, 4. Jason Jenkins, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16. Joe van Zyl, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Marcel van der Merwe, 19. Sintu Manjezi, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Marco Jansen van Vuren.

 

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Koos Venter

Koos Venter is an experienced journalist who started his career 35 years ago, before the days of cellphones, modern computer systems, the internet and digital cameras, as a correspondent for Nexus, the former national magazine of the Department of Correctional Services. He has since worked for various other publications in all aspects of news coverage, as a columnist and in the production side of newspapers and online publications. Since 2007 he has specialized as a sports writer, while he is also regularly used as an analyst and commentator by several radio stations.
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