Bulls make Heineken Champions Cup debut with alternate team
It is clear that performance in the United Rugby Championship is a big priority for the Bulls, after Jake White and his management chose an "alternative" team to play against the French club Lyon in the Heineken Champions Cup tournament on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
Legendary Springbok and Bulls flyhalf, Morne Steyn will lead the Pretoria herd’s Heineken Champions Cup debut clash against French outfit, Lyon.
The match is scheduled for Saturday 10 December, with kick-off set for 19h30pm in the evening, at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Steyn will lead a balanced side of youth mixed with experience as the Bulls step into new territory in the Heineken Champions Cup, a competition BBCo Director of Rugby, Jake White sees as the equivalent of international rugby.
“To be fair (as a group) we are probably a little bit naive. Whether you are in the Heineken Cup or the Challenger cup, it’s tough competition. You look at the teams running out every week and its international players coming onto the field and we don’t have Springboks in every position,” White explained.
Photo: Supplied
He said he told his team how difficult, how competitive and challenging this competition is. He compared it to championship football and believes this is an opportunity to play against the best in the sport.
Young players like Junior Springbok star, Muller Uys will have the experienced Bismarck Du Plessis, Jacques van Rooyen, Jacques Du Plessis and Nizaam Carr to lean on alongside the likes of WJ Steenkamp, Reinhardt Ludwig, Dylan Smith who complete the forwards’ pack.
Loose Head Prop Lizo Gqoboka returns after a five-month injury lay off and he will be running from the bench in what is set to be 100th game for the Bulls, across all competitions.
Stravino Jacobs and Sibongile Novuka combine at wing whilst Stedman Gans slots in at outside centre with Marco Jansen van Vuren on the inside. Wandisile Simelane will run from the back, starting at full-back, a switch from outside centre which his mentor, Jake White, touts to help develop Simelane’s game.
100 Not Out! 🏏 Lizo will run out for a century of caps for the @Vodacom Bulls tomorrow 🐃 Come and support the Big Man by getting your tickets here: https://t.co/MgCncNhlBx#TrueToTheBlue #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/IbgpxjAUFf
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 9, 2022
“The more guys we have who are versatile in the backline, that is the philosophy we have got at the Bulls, the better this team will be. So it will be good to see Wandi run out at full-back and seeing him develop more and more in that position,” White remarked.
White highlighted the importance of rotating the squad as the season progresses and noted that the side has good balance.
“At the beginning of the month, I had said we are going to have to be clever in how we manage the players and it just turned out that this weekend a couple of the guys from the Springboks needed some time off, and some guys had worked really hard to get a game. I felt that it is a home game, so it is a good opportunity for some of the boys who have worked hard to get the start,” he concluded.
Bulls starting team: 1. Dylan Smith, 2. Bismarck Du Plessis, 3. Jacques van Rooyen, 4. Jacques Du Plessis, 5. Reinhardt Ludwig, 6. Nizaam Carr, 7. Wj Steenkamp, 8. Muller Uys, 9. Bernard van der Linde, 10. Morne Steyn (c), 11. Stravino Jacobs, 12. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Sibongile Novuka, 15. Wandisile Simelane
Replacements: 16. Jan Hendrik Wessels, 17. Lizo Gqoboka, 18. Sebastian Lombard, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Phumzile Maqondwana, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Chris Barend Smith, 23. Juan Mostert
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