No Marcell Coetzee, but Bulls select strong team for North vs South derby
The Bulls head to Cape Town without Marcell Coetzee, while there are also questions in Pretoria about the match officials appointed for the URC derby against the Stormers.
Elrigh Louw will lead a determined Bulls side who travel to Cape Town for the first instalment of the North-South derby in the current 2023/24 season.
This round eight festive clash in the United Rugby Championship (URC) is set for Saturday evening, at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The herd will assemble a formidable forward pack featuring Gerhard Steenekamp, Akker van der Merwe and Wilco Louw at front row. The trio will be supported by the lock duo of Janko Swanepoel and Reinhardt Ludwig combining once more at second row. The pair will be flanked by Marco van Staden and Louw who continues to lead the side in the absence of club co-captains. Cameron Hanekom will lace up his boots at eight.
Behind Hanekom will be half back duo, Embrose Papier who starts at scrum half and Johan Goosen who will be at fly half. The pair will link the forwards to the backline made up of Canan Moodie at left wing and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the right of the park. David Kriel and Stedman Gans will run out together once more, creating magic at centre with Willie le Roux providing creative cover at full back.
IT'S. TIME! đ¨â
It doesn't get BIGGER than this! Make sure your eyes are on DHL @TheStormers âĄď¸ vs @Vodacom @BlueBullsRugby đď¸Â for the MASSIVE festive Summer clash in Cape Town! đ¨đĽ pic.twitter.com/iONLFxWDIo
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) December 20, 2023
Director of Rugby Jake White will have Simphiwe Matanzima, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Mornay Smith, Deon Slabbert, Mpilo Gumede, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith and Sebastian de Klerk to call upon from the 5-3 split impact squad.
The omission of Marcell Coetzee from the 23-man squad came as a surprise. It is not known if he is currently injured. He was in action for the Bulls this past weekend in Lyon.
The Bulls will have to be clinical on Saturday, because the appointment of the match officials does not look favourable for them at all. For one reason or another, the Bulls always struggle when the Cape Town native, Marius van der Westuizen, handles their matches. He will be the 31st man on the field on Saturday. In addition, the assistant referees are also known to be certainly not favourites in Pretoria. Griffin Colby always gives the impression that he doesn’t have much love for the Bulls, while Aimee Barrett-Theron has already been criticized in Pretoria because it appears that she is out of her depth in important matches at this level.
Kick-off is set for 19:00.Â
BULLS vs STORMERS STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Janko Swanepoel, 5. Reinhardt Ludwig, 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Elrigh Louw (c), 8. Cameron Hanekom, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. Canan Moodie, 12. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15. Willie le Roux
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Simphiwe Matanzima, 17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Deon Slabbert, 20. Mpilo Gumede, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Sebastian de Klerk.
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