Bulls bring in heavy hitters to face Stormers

The Vodacom Bulls coaching staff have opted to bring their most experienced heavy hitters back to set the tone early against the DHL Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Moving into the starting XV for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby are Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, and Wilco Louw with Alulutho Tshakweni, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, and Mornay Smith, who all started against the Sharks two weeks ago, dropping to the replacements bench to provide second-half impact.

In the loose forwards, there is a strategic rotation at eighth man where form man Jeandre Rudolph earns a start in the No 8 jersey, moving up from the bench.

Captain Marcell Coetzee and powerhouse Elrigh Louw remain settled in their starting roles.

The Bulls have, however, opted for total continuity in the backline. There are no changes to the starting back seven.

The silky halfback pairing of Embrose Papier and Handre Pollard remains intact, while the dangerous back three of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sebastian de Klerk, and David Kriel will once again lead the attack.

Significantly, Cobus Wiese and Marco van Staden, poised to make his 100th first class appearance for the Bulls, provide grunt among the forwards on the bench.

Paul de Wet and Willie le Roux are retained as the specialist backline cover to provide cool heads in the closing stages.

Vodacom Bulls starting XV: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier; 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (capt); 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak; 3 Wilco louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Jan Hendrik Wessels, 17 Alu Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Willie le Roux.

SATURDAY

ROUND 8

Vodacom Bulls v DHL Stormers

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 12pm IRE & UK/1pm ITA/2pm SA

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU, 28th league game)

AR 1: Morne Ferreira (SARU) AR 2: Griffin Colby (SARU)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv