White gives several dirt trackers a shot against Cardiff
Jake White has rested most of his first-choice players in the Bulls' touring squad, particularly among the forwards, for Friday night's URC game against Cardiff, meaning several dirt trackers get a chance to show what they can do at Arms Park in Wales.
Loose forward, Celimpilo ‘Mpilo’ Gumede has been handed his debut for the Bulls this weekend when the Pretoria-based franchise visits Cardiff Rugby at Arms Park in Wales.
Gumede – a former SA Schools player and Junior Bok – will lace up his boots at eight, bringing his explosive game to the pack that is led by an unchanged front row with Nizaam Carr captaining the side in their fourth round 2023/24 Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) outing.
Carr will start at blindside flank whilst Cyle Brink will be on the openside with the duo of Reinhardt Ludwig and Janko Swanepoel completing the second row as the lock pairing.
Embrose Papier (scrumhalf) and Chris Smith (flyhalf) will direct traffic flow at halfback with an unchanged backline behind them. Sergeal Petersen who had an impressive debut will be at left wing whilst his energetic counterpart Sebastian de Klerk will be on the right of the park. David Kriel will be hoping to add more tries to his tally from inside centre with Stedman Gans on his outside with Devon Williams at fullback.
Director of Rugby, Jake White has gone with a 6-2 bench split which will see Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom sit on standby for forward pack duty with Keagan Johannes and Johan Goosen the optional backline picks on the waiting list for duty.
This clash in the South of Wales is set for Friday with kick off scheduled for 21:35 (South African time).
Who's here for the Gumede debut 🫡 @Vodacom #urc pic.twitter.com/0Xv2JlNEEX
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) November 9, 2023
“I have got to try something different. We know Marcell (Coetzee) and Elrigh (Louw) play all the time and Cameron (Hanekom) we have seen. Elrigh has played every single game for eighty minutes so the changes give us a chance to see some fresh legs. We signed Mpilo Gumede and Cyle (Brink) played a lot of rugby last year with this team last season and so did Nizaam (Carr) so we are trying new combinations but we do have Cameron and Elrigh on the bench so we could finish with those two as well,” White remarked on the changes made to the matchday 23.
Speaking about their opponents this week, White pointed out that they have a new coach with Dai Young having left, but their new head coach has been with the club and knows the players.
“One thing we do know is that they play on a 4G pitch and they caught us on the tempo of the game the last time we were here and I must say that the opening 20 minutes was very quick so I am sure it will be the same this time around,” White commented.
He also admitted that there could be an element of surprise in that there is a new group of players and new coaches.
“But I do know Welsh rugby and the style of play so I do not think they will go too far away from what they know and which has been part of their DNA for a long time,” the Bulls coach emphasized.
He finally pointed out that the conditions will have an impact on the game.
“If we look at the opening game on tour, we thought we could play with the wind and it did not work out quite well for us. In Parma, we played with the wind and that helped us a lot. We will have a look at what the weather is like when we are in the park and see how we use that to our advantage,” White concluded.
BULLS vs CARDIFF RUGBY STARTING XV: 1. Simphiwe Matanzima, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Reinhardt Ludwig, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 6. Nizaam Carr (c), 7. Cyle Brink, 8. Mpilo Gumede, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Chris Smith, 11. Sergeal Petersen, 12. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Sebastian de Klerk, 15. Devon Williams. REPLACEMENTS: 16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Ruan Nortje, 20. Elrigh Louw, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Johan Goosen, 24. Cameron Hanekom.
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