From the official Press release by the Blue Bulls, we can announce that the coach of the Vodacom Blue Bulls, Frans Ludeke, has selected Chiliboy Ralepelle, Gurthrö Steenkamp and Wynand Olivier in his starting XV for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup clash in Wellington against the Boland Cavaliers.

Ralepelle starts at hooker with Derick Kuün moving to the bench and for this reason the flamboyant number 8 Dewald Potgieter will captain the team.

Potgieter is going to play in a loose trio with Jacques Burger and Deon Stegmann and in die midfield Olivier partners Francois Hougaard.

Hougaard is a scrumhalf who has played a couple of matches on the wing but because of Jaco Pretorius’ knee injury and Stephan Dippenaar’s broken hand the youngster will wear the number 13 jersey against the Cavaliers.

Ludeke said at the weekly press conference at Loftus on Wednesday that Hougaard is a true footballer that can almost play anywhere in the backline and the coach added that Hougaard has done exceptionally well for the SA under 20s at centre.

“Picking Francois at centre is not an experiment.

“Jaco had to withdraw from the match on Wednesday and because of Dippenaar’s unavailability we opted for Francois at outside centre. He has good feet and together with Wynand I think they can form a very lethal midfield combination.

“He has played there in the past and I am full of confidence that he will be able to deliver the goods on Saturday.”

With Hougaard at centre Ludeke opted for John Mametsa on the left wing and Dries van Schalkwyk comes in for the injured Pedrie Wannenburg.

Mametsa is one of the most experienced Currie Cup players at Loftus and has made steady progress behind the scenes after he picked up a rather serious knee injury playing for a Namibian XV against the Springboks.

Wannenburg is struggling with a slight case of concussion and because of this he could not be considered for the weekend’s encounter.

Ludeke concluded that it is great to have some of the Boks playing for the Bulls and the coach added that they brought with them a lot of positive energy.

“There is a nice vibe at training and it is just a pleasure to have them back. Their mental state is terrific and I am convinced that there presence will add a lot of value to our campaign.”

Team:

Vodacom Blue Bulls: Zane Kirchner; Gerhard van den Heever, Francois Hougaard, Wynand Olivier, John Mametsa; Burton Francis, Heini Adams; Dewald Potgieter (captain), Jacques Burger, Deon Stegmann, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Gurthrö Steenkamp. Reserves: Derick Kuün, Dean Greyling, Fudge Mabeta, Dries van Schalkwyk, Francois Brummer, Stefan Watermeyer, Marius Delport.

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