The Vodacom Bulls will travel to Kimberley with a team loaded with Vodacom United Rugby Championship players for the Currie Cup clash against Griquas on Saturday.
The two sides will meet at Tafel Lager Park at 2.30pm on Saturday where both sides will be looking to claim bragging rights after weeks of no action in the domestic competition.
Griquas beat Western Province 22-20 in their last outing at home on February 18, while the Bulls went down 25-38 to the Cheetahs on February 2 – their last bit of action in the Currie Cup.
The Bulls have selected a strong side for the encounter. A number of players who featured in last weekend’s United Rugby Championship win over Zebre Parma, in Italy, will be turning out on Saturday.
Captain Marcell Coetzee will spearhead the star-studded lineup which includes, among others, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cornal Hendricks, Chris Smith and Embrose Papier in the backline.
In the forwards pack, alongside Coetzee, will be Arno Botha, Walt Steenkamp, Bismarck du Plessis and Simphiwe Matanzima.
“The Griquas have shown some good form so far this season and everybody knows how tough of an opponent they always are on the domestic scene,” coach Gert Smal said. “We, therefore, expect an exceptionally tough match against them, especially at their home ground.
“We will have to be at our best if we want to claim a good result. We have a good blend of experience and exciting youth in our squad, and we hope that our preparations over the past few weeks will come together this weekend.”
Bulls – 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Richard Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Muller Uys, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Subs: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Kowie Roos, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Lionel Mapoe.
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Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
