Bakkies Botha will lead a well balanced Vodacom Bulls team into battle against the Stormers at Newland on Saturday. The first time captain will be followed onto the field by two debutants at this level, with Deon Helberg and Gerrit-Jan van Velze making Super debuts in a team that see 14 changes from the starting line-up of the side that beat the Crusaders 40-35 at Loftus Versfeld last weekend.
With the Bulls already assured of a first place finish on the Vodacom Super 14 log and a home semi-final next week, coach Frans Ludeke , opted for the luxury of resting his regular starting XV and giving remaining squad members and some newcomers to this level a chance to show their worth.
Only Jacques-Louis Potgieter started against the Crusaders (at centre), but now moves to his favourite fly-half position, while regular impact players like Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Pedrie Wannenburg, Derick Kuün, Flip van der Merwe, Bandise Maku and Bees Roux will earn starts.
Tiger Mangweni, De Wet Barry, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Dean Greyling, who all have Super 14 experience but have not played in the competition this year, will get a chance to add caps to their Super Rugby tally.
Botha expressed delight at being given the captaincy and said his team talk will be a simple one. “Play for the jersey. It stands for a lot of things and respect what it has achieved,” said Botha, who last captained the SA Schools side way back in 1998.
Coach Frans Ludeke said he picked the best available side for the occasion. “We had to rest some of our senior players, who have played all the matches this year and up to 960 minutes of rugby.
It is a good mix of experience and youth and also pays justice to our youth structures,” Ludeke said.
The team (with Super Caps) is:Tiger Mangweni (9), Jaco van der Westhuyzen (51), Stephan Dippenaar (11), De Wet Barry (78), Deon Helberg* (0), Jacques-Louis Potgieter (29), Heini Adams (35), Pedrie Wannenburg (110), Gerrit-Jan van Velze(0)*, Derick Kuün (53), Bakkies Botha (85, c), Flip van der Merwe (16), Bees Roux (28), Bandise Maku (18), Jaco Engels (39). Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle (18), Dean Greyling (2), Fudge Mabeta (1), Okkie Kruger (0)*, Ruan Snyman (0)*, Francois Brummer (0)*, Stefan Watermeyer (0)*. *First Super 14 match. Notes:
• Tiger Mangweni will start in his first Bulls match, but played for the Vodacom Stormers (2, 2005) and the Vodacom Cheetahs (7, 2007) in previous campaigns.
• De Wet Barry will start in his first Bulls match, but played for the Vodacom Stormers from 2000-2007 and earned 78 caps. He did play for the Bulls against the Lions in a friendly match in Polokwane in January.
• Deon Helberg will start in his first Bulls match after making his Vodacom Cup debut earlier this season. He also represented South Africa in the International Rugby Board’s World Sevens Series.
• Gerrit-Jan van Velze will start in his first Bulls match after captaining the Vodacom Cup side to the Vodacom Cup last week. The former World Junior Player of the Year nominee played in the Absa Currie Cup for the Bulls in 2009.
• Okkie Kruger, Ruan Snyman, Francois Brummer and Stefan Watermeyer will all earn first Super 14 caps if they come off the bench on Saturday.
• Mangweni, Helberg, Van Velze, Engels, Ralepelle, Greyling, Mabeta, Kruger, Snyman, Brummer en Watermeyer were all in the starting XV of the Blue Bulls side that won the Vodacom Cup final against the Free State last weekend.
Fark me. That is not a bad starting 15!
4 Freestaters in that team!
VRYSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT !!!!!!
Very good team. Bulls are going to smash the Stormers :):):)
GO BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSS !!!!!!!!
Last Friday, winning the Vodacom cup, Super 14 rugby was far in the future for most of these players. Eleven VC players in the match 22.
Now we wait and see how the Waratahs moan and lay complaints at SANZAR…
Will be an interesting match, but the Stormers should clap this team well. Bulls B can only hope that they can get some continuity between the eleven players that won the Vodacom cup a week ago.
In all it is a very nice reward for the Vodacom players that won the cup for the Bulls.
It would even have been more interesting if they played the full Vodacom team as is, but unfortunately the Bulls A benchplayers all deserve full games as well.
Great weekend of Rugby coming up!
Interesting scenario’s for this game:
1. Bulls playing 2 enforcer type locks, how will this pan out?
2. How will Van Velze shape up in S14 and how will he combine with Kuun & Wanneburg against a very good Stormers loosie combo?
3. The tussle between the halfback pairings will be interesting.
4. Does De Wet Barry still have what it takes?
5. How solid will the Bulls back 3 be…. they might even prove to be more solid on defence than the incumbants on the wings?
6. What are we going to see in the front rows?
7. Where will the Stormers now focus on attack?
8. What type of game plan will the Bulls impliment… 10-man rugby?
Bakkies as kaptein sê alles !
Smash them hard !!!!
Mission accomplished…
Jaco VDW vs Habana, nou wie is die vinnigste ? 😉
ag fok die kak!!
MOER HULLE STORMERS!!!
#12
VIER woorde wat nie vloekwoorde is nie!!
fok, ek raak oud!! 😆
12 & 13 @ Asbakkie – Bwahahahaaha
Kind of expected everybody there, but Bakkies as Captain?
15@ Chosen One – Who else…. he’s the only Super 14 Bull with that much experience…
16 – gbs, Agree.
Now who you think will win. Tahs/Canes – Saders/Brumbies.
Still thinking about this one.
Thought maybe Tahs home ground. Saders exhausted after travel Brumbies to win.
Now thinking maybe not. Those kiwis will really play out their minds to get a team in the semi.
So who? Want to do my picks and not so sure. I am rubbish at this…..hehehe.
15: as die Stormers Schalk kan cappie maak, dan kan Bakkies gerus kaptein wees van Loftus se jeugliga.
Bakkies se spanpraatjie voor die wedstryd: “No more mr. Nice Guy!”
Spanpraatjie halftyd: “Take no prisoners!”
😀
18 – bdb….. 😆
Bakkies – Boys you must clean out properly… let me show you how… hehehe
Bakkies and Flip to Bekker and Fondse – My bal is my bal, en jou bal is ook my bal!
Juan de Jongh – O moer hier kom De Wet Barry weer…. einaaaaaaa
Waar gaan De Jonghetjie nou heen…. ek wil hom weer duik man!
20 – gbs, De Wet Barry in the S14? Think he has forgotten how hard it is.
See my post 17. Who you think going to make 3rd and 4th spot?
21@ Puma – Saders and Tahs
22 – gbs, I was thinking them. Still not sure though. Saders are moeg boeta. Two very hard games in SA then travel all the way back to Christchurch. Will be tough for them.
Canes too looking great at the moment. Though Tahs on home ground might be hard to beat them there.
Could be anyone. Maybe no kiwi sides in the semi. Maybe one kiwi and Aus side.
Really can not make up my mind with those games. The others are sort of easy this week.
23@ Puma – I feel the Waratahs forwards will clinch it for them…
Saders are hard buggers, hard as nails…. and with their innovative way of devising game plans, like against the Bulls… and at home.. it shades it in their favour, I think.
24 – Gbs, If Saders make it they will be easy meat for the semi. I tell you they are moeg from the two games they played here and travel. They beat the Brumbies they have to travel all the way back to SA. The only time they done that they lost to the Bulls.
Hello Turk, How you doing?
Think it’s going to be Brumbies and Canes!
25@ Puma – There was a quiet confidence about Richie McCaw Friday night after the Bulls game, when asked about travel he said that they are up for it… and I believe a lot of the fatigue-thing is a mental thing. Should they beat the Brumbies well, they will have that mental boost to say, we stepped up against the Bulls, now we beat the Brumbies, we can step up some more and beat the Bulls away from Loftus (Orlando).
Nothing is sure in this competition… not even a Bulls loss to the Stormers with a B-team. Of course there is the reasonable expectation for Bulls B to lose, but the youngsters will be fired up, once again coming down to a mental thing… if these youngsters can hold the Stormer for more than 45 minutes, the belief that they can win will even be stronger. If however the Stormers sail away from the start, they will win easily.
Stormers have a habit of starting very strong… so let’s see!
I want to ask a very important question… do you also believe like me that this Bulls B-side is stronger than any team the Lions fielded all season?
@28 True the mental thing is very strong and agree with the way you see things. I hope however that the Brumbies take the Saders because think the saders will be tougher to beat in the semi and would like the stormers get them to take revenge. Tahs may be distracted by the bulls selection and would like to see them lose as they will also be tougher in my opinion in the semis. So am hoping for Stormers/Brumbies and Bulls/Canes semis, with the brawl at Orlando between Stormers and Bulls going to …………. STORMPOPPIES!!!!!!
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