One forced change for Vodacom Bulls in Grand Final

The Vodacom Bulls have made one forced change to their matchday 23 for the 2024/25 Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final in Dublin. The South Africans are all set for a classic clash of the titans against the Irish at Croke Park on Saturday at 6pm South African Time.

Jake White, having lost VURC Next-Gen playmaker Cameron Hanekom in the semi-finals, has brought in Marco ‘Eskom’ van Staden into the forward pack with Nizaam ‘Nemo’ Carr coming into the impact squad in an otherwise unchanged 23 in personnel and duty.

Eskom slots in at loose forward alongside skipper Ruan Nortje, which sees Marcell Coetzee shifting to No 8. Ahead of the back row, the tight five remains unchanged with Jan-hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw at front row with Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden combining at lock.

The backline of Sebastian de Klerk and Canon Moodie on the wings, Harold Vorster and David Kriel at centre and el maestro, Willie le Roux, at fullback, is unchanged. Halfback duo, Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen, are paired up once more to direct the flow of traffic under the Dublin skies.

Nemo is the only change to the five-three split impact squad in favour of the forwards pack. He is alongside Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes and Devon Williams.

The URC has been around for over three years and found a home with three different champions in that time but ahead of the first Grand Final in the northern hemisphere it's worth taking a look at some of the hidden details you might not know about.

• The trophy's official name is 'The Array' however those who have been responsible for it have nick-named it 'Beastie'

• Weighing in at 20 kilograms the Array is the heaviest trophy in club rugby (20kg)

• It stands 68 cm tall (before it's placed on its stand)

• You'll need some strong arms, but you can absolutely get to enjoy the taste of success with its 12 litre capacity that can hold around 25 pints of beer or 12 bottles of champagne!

• The trophy was crafted by Thomas Lyte of London, makers of the FA Cup

• Former winning coaches and players were consulted before design who said the trophy had to be: “Bloody big”, "Needs handles" and "You needed to be able to drink from it"

• Trophy body is silver-plated, hand-spun from a single metal sheet; arms were 3D printed and electroformed

• Named “The Array”, it features four U-shaped arms, each representing Wales, Scotland, Ireland, or South Africa

• Each arm is etched with a national shield and the word “Champions” in four languages

• Designed with eight handles for team celebrations, reflecting the URC’s team-first ethos

• Blue aluminum “crown” lid is engraved with the logo, removable for celebrations

• Trophy includes a watertight central chamber that lights up the lid from below, creating a glowing effect

Leinster starting XV: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe; 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 8 Jack Conan (capt), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird; 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy; 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter. Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jamie Osborne.

Vodacom Bulls starting XV: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canon Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk; 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier; 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Ruan Nortje (capt), 6 Marco van Staden; 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese; 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Devon Williams.

SATURDAY

Leinster Rugby v Vodacom Bulls

Croke Park, Dublin – KO 5pm IRE & UK/6pm ITA & SA

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 55th league game)

AR 1: Mike Adamson (SRU) AR 2: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Live on: TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv