Vodacom Bulls prop Dawie Steyn will earn a first Super Rugby start on Saturday when his new side face the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld.
The loose head prop will replace Dean Greyling who did not recover from a bruised shoulder.
Official Bulls Media Release
Steyn has been in excellent form in the Vodacom Cup and coach Frans Ludeke is keen to see how the former Affies pupil will handle the Australians.
“Dawie has been part of the squad since pre-season and has developed the way we hoped and expected. He will be very keen for this opportunity and I am sure he will do very well.”
The Brumbies made two changes to their side that beat the Rebels last week, with Wallabies loose head, Ben Alexander, returning to the fray.
Ludeke earlier said they will be looking for a better start than recent weeks.
The Vodacom Bulls could go top of the South African conference if they beat the Brumbies with a bonus point.
THE TEAMS ARE:
Vodacom Bulls: Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Wynand Olivier, Bjorn Basson, Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies (c), Jacques Potgieter, CJ Stander, Juandré Kruger, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Dawie Steyn.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Frik Kirsten, Gerrit-Jan van Velze, Arno Botha, Jano Vermaak, Louis Fouché, Johann Sadie.
Brumbies: Jesse Mogg, Henry Speight, Andrew Smith, Pat McCabe, Joe Tomane, Christian Lealiifano, Nic White, Fotu Auelua, Michael Hooper, Ben Mowen (c), Sam Carter, Scott Fardy, Dan Palmer, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander.
Replacements: Anthony Hegarty, Ruaidhri Murphy, Peter Kimlin, Ita Vaea, Ian Prior, Robbie Coleman, Tevita Kuridrani.
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe, Stefan Breytenbach.
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
Dawie is a good Loosehead… he played for the Pumas last year and gave a good account of himself against some good props from the Currie Cup Franchises. Amongst others he gave the WP props a torrid time last year towards the business end of the Currie Cup.
Big quiet chap, good replacement to have.
Always love the story about Dean Greyling… he apparently loved the MacGuyver TV series so much when he was a tiny tot… that he made his parents go to Home Affairs and change his name to Dean (pronounced Die-Jan) MacGuyver Greyling.
His nickname now of course is “Wors”.
I see Loskoppie said the choice of Dawie Steyn over Frik Kirsten is a slap in the face of Kirsten…
Well, the explanation is simple, Kirsten prefers Tighthead although he can pack down at Loosehead. When he’s come on though, he’s either directly subbed Werner Kruger or Werner Kruger shifted to Loosehead to accomodate Kirsten at Tighthead.
So, with Dean injured it makes simple sense to replace Loosehead for Loosehead, therefore the preference for Dawie Steyn, with Kirsten still in the match 22.
Thought I would just put things in perspective.
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