Ruan Nortjé leads Bulls against Glasgow Warriors in Scotland
The Bulls' Springbok lock, Ruan Nortjé, who was one of the standouts in the Springbok team during the Rugby Championship in August and September this year, is back with his team in Scotland and he will lead them on the field against the Glasgow Warriors on Friday night.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann made eight changes to their line-up for Friday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) fixture against the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland.
This follows last week’s one-point win against Connacht.
Among the most significant changes are the inclusion of seasoned players like Marcell Coetzee and Ruan Nortje, which adds muscle and leadership with the latter appointed captain.
There has been a front row overhaul with Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith stepping in.
Other changes see the impressive Reinhardt Ludwig shifting from five to seven, with JJ Theron and Nama Xaba dropping to the bench.
The backline shows just two changes, Embrose Papier coming in for Paul de Wet and Stravino Jacobs replacing Canan Moodie, who was summoned for Springbok duty.
The Bulls have lost just two of their last seven away games in the URC, but Glasgow Warriors’ only defeat so far this campaign was a narrow loss against Benetton in Round Two.
Franco Smith’s team have lost just twice at home in any competition since December 2023, both in the United Rugby Championship, against Ospreys in March and against the Bulls in April.
The two sides have met on five previous occasions with the Bulls having the edge by three wins to two. The Bulls’ 26-19 win on their most recent visit to Scotstoun in April is the South Africans’ only victory in Scotland.
BULLS v GLASGOW
1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 3. Mornay Smith, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Ruan Nortje (Capt.), 6. Marcell Coetzee, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 8. Jeandre Rudolph, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Keagan Johannes, 11. Stravino Jacobs, 12. Jan Serfontein, 13. David Kriel, 14. Sebastian de Klerk and 15. Willie le Roux. REPLACEMENTS: 16. Juann Else, 17. Etienne Janneke, 18. Francois Klopper, 19. JJ Theron, 20. Nama Xaba, 21. Paul de Wet, 22. Stedman Gans and 23. Kurt-Lee Arendse.
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