New faces in Bulls team for URC battle against Lions
Jake White has decided to rest some stalwarts, while men like Dylan Smith, WJ Steenkamp and Sibongile Novuka will all get a chance to play against the Lions on Saturday and David Kriel will be tested at inside centre.
Morné Steyn is set to feature in Bulls colours for the 151st time as the Pretoria outfit is ready to welcome noisy neighbours, the Lions in a classic Jukskei derby at Loftus Versfeld.
BBCo. Director of Rugby, Jake White announced his side that will lace up against the Joburg-based team as the two South African rivals meet in round 15 of the 2022/23 United Rugby Championship, on Saturday.
The two old foes met in round one of this campaign, with White’s men registering a resounding 31-15 victory in Johannesburg. However, this return clash has more weight to it as Pretoria’s team will be looking for maximum points to elevate higher on the log whilst the visitors will be hoping to find something that can give them hopes of a playoff spot.
Kick-off for the battle of the Jukskei bragging rights is set for 16:45, with gates opening from 12:00 midday.
Dylan Smith and WJ Steenkamp are the only changes to the forwards’ pack that did duty a week ago, whilst Embrose Papier and Morné Steyn combine at halfback. David Kriel moves into inside centre with Cornal Hendricks on his outside, as Wandisile Simelane starts at fullback. Speedster, Sbu Nkosi (left) is joined by Sibongile Novuka (right) on the wings, adding more firepower to the pace of the lineup.
Bernard van der Linde is the only other addition to the matchday 23 that is set to feature from the impact squad, alongside the likes of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Ruan Vermaak, Cyle Brink, Chris Smith and centre Harold Vorster.
“We are still feeling a bit sore after the loss to the Stormers because we felt (at 12-3 up) we could have won it, but we must get back on the horse because we lost a game we thought we should have won, we could win and now we must make sure we turn it around,” said White about his expectations for the match.
According to White, the Lions probably picked the biggest team they have.
“That means we must be ready to deal with their biggest pack forwards and that is not going to be easy. We only made one or two changes because we still do not have Canan [Moodie] and Kurt-Lee [Arendse] who are still with the Bok camp, so we have moved Wandi to the back and Sibongile comes in at wing. The nice thing though is that majority of this group has played together and they understand one another,” he remarked.
Loftus Versfeld will be a hype of activity on the day, as the Blue Bulls Currie Cup side will take on a Loftus 200 invitational side loaded with Carlton Cup club-level players in a curtain-raiser to the main event. This is part of the final preparations as the 2023 edition of the Currie Cup is set to start in the coming week.
Kick-off for the curtain raiser is set for 14:00.
More than 17 000 tickets have already been sold for the clash and rugby fans can still purchase theirs from as little as R25.00 through the Vodacom Bulls App and TicketPro
Bulls starting team: 1. Dylan Smith, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 3. Mornay Smith, 4. Jacques Du Plessis, 5. Ruan Nortje (c), 6. Marco van Staden, 7. WJ Steenkamp, 8. Elrigh Louw, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Morne Steyn, 11. Sbu Nkosi, 12. David Kriel, 13. Cornal Hendricks, 14. Sibongile Novuka, 15. Wandisile Simelane. Replacements: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Francois Klopper, 19. Ruan Vermaak, 20. Cyle Brink, 21. Bernard van der Linde, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Harold Vorster.
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