Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made seven changes to his starting side to play the Blues in Auckland on Sunday in the first of their four match tour.
The starting team shows changes at wing, centre, scrumhalf, loose forward, prop and hooker from the one that had the bonus point win over the Western Force last weekend, with injuries and the return to fitness the main reasons for that.
Injured winger Bjorn Basson is replaced by Lionel Mapoe, who moves from outside centre, where a fit again JJ Engelbrecht returns to the side. Akona Ndungane is also back in action and will play in his first match of the season in place of Sampie Mastriet.
Jano Vermaak also earns a first start this season in place of Francois Hougaard, with the latter playing off the bench. Hougaard is struggling with an ankle strain.
Deon Stegmann returns to the fray having recovered from his hamstring strain and replaces Jacques Potgieter who moves to the bench. Potgieter takes the place of Jean Cook, who is not in the touring squad.
With both Werner Kruger and Chiliboy Ralepelle having small niggles, Ludeke opted to start with Frik Kirsten and Willie Wepener in the front row.
Ralepelle and Kruger will be joined on the bench by Super Rugby debutant, Jürgen Visser. The versatile Blue Bulls player finally gets a chance to play Super Rugby following a stellar Absa Currie Cup season last year.
“We have talked about our depth and this is a great opportunity to really test that,” Ludeke said of his team selection. “All the guys who start for the first time this season will be very keen and it will also give some respite to those who are feeling a bit sore after the first couple of matches.”
The Blues will be a tough opponent, Ludeke said.
“Both their wins were well deserved. They play very enterprising rugby. We have been up and down and our aim will be to produce the good spells for longer. We also know we will have to pick up points on tour if we want to be around at the business end of the competition”.
The Vodacom Bulls team is (with Super Caps):
15 Zane Kirchner (73)
14 Akona Ndungane (84)
13 JJ Engelbrecht (18)
12 Wynand Olivier(105)
11 Lionel Mapoe (30)
10 Mornè Steyn (108)
9 Jano Vermaak (90)
8 Pierre Spies (91, Captain)
7 Arno Botha (12)
6 Deon Stegmann (61)
5 Juandrè Kruger (19)
4 Flip van der Merwe (50)
3 Frik Kirsten (17)
2 Willie Wepener (55)
1 Mornè Mellett (2)
Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (54)
17 Werner Kruger (77)
18 Grant Hattingh (11)
19 Jacques Potgieter (14)
20 Francois Hougaard (47)
21 Louis Fouché (12)
22 Jürgen Visser (0)
Milestones:
- Mornè Steyn is South Africa’s leading points’ scorer in Vodacom Super Rugby and could extend any of the following records: 1242 points; 213 conversions; 228 penalties and 23 drop goals.
- Wynand Olivier will play in his 106th Super Rugby match, making his the country’s most experienced midfielder.
- Jano Vermaak will make only his second start since joining the Vodacom Bulls in 2012. His last start was against the Blues on March 10, 2012.
- Willie Wepener will make his first start for the Vodacom Bulls since joining them in 2012. All of his 15 matches since have been off the bench.
- Frik Kirsten will make his first ever start for the Vodacom Bulls in his 19th appearances for the team.
Wow… many changes… let’s look at them…
* Akona Ndungane on the right wing: Solid defender and maybe that’s what’s needed against the hard-running Blues.
* JJ Engelbrecht at outside centre: I’m worried about his defence in this vital channel, would have wanted Jan Serfontein there.
* Jano Vermaak at scrumhalf: Won’t let the side down, but maybe he offers slightly less nipp as well and maybe he does not defend as well as Hougie. Happy with him though.
* Arno Botha at blindside: What a boykie… Goooooooooo Arno!
* Deon Stegmann at openside: We missed Steggies against the Force and the Force bossed the breakdowns as a result, great to have the fetcher back and to have balance in the loosie combo back.
* Frik Kirsten at tighthead: Frik is getting better… gradually and one journo in the Press Box with us at Loftus (Koos) believes Frik can become a world-beating tighthead… Koos does not talk a lot of kak either.
* Willie Wepener at hooker: Solid chap and adds lots of experience. I think people underestimate Willie. He puts in a lot of hard graft.
Why no Cook? He basically saved the Bulls last week.
2 @ Loosehead:
Cook is not on Tour… pity
sommer ñ k*k span!! wanneer kies hulle ñ slag ñ senterpaar wat my maatjie gbs “opgewonde” kan maak. ek is seker die ou brand om te “bars” van trots!!
2 @ Loosehead:
Loosehead he is not in the Bulls touring squad I think. After his performance off the bench last week I asked the question here whether he would be retained in the Super squad once Stegmann and Dewald Potgieter recovered from injury as I can’t recall Cook being in the original Super squad so thought there could be a rule about numbers and so he may be left out which is quite harsh on the man as you say he did real well last week, also a pity for Sampie Mastriet not to have made the touring squad as it sounds like he had a good game too, but Akona Ndungane has proved himself to be a stalwart year in and year out and if once he returned to fitness had to be in and with other options in Mapoe and Engelbrecht for wing too the numbers were just not enough to include Mastriet, a pity as these youngs guys could learn so much going on tour like this.
Bit concerning to read of a niggle for Hougaard, this shows up the folly of not going on tour with another specialist scrumhalf in Rudy Paige, if the numbers were a problem then Hougaard could have gone as scrumhalf and backup wing/centre.
Also hope Ralapelle does not have too much of an injury as only Wepenaar as the other hooker in the squad.
One of my criticisms of Andy Robinson during his time in charge at Scotland was that he was continually chopping and changing his centre pairing and now it looks like the same is happenning with the Bulls, I think it makes it difficult for the midfield to settle both on attack and defence if it is changing all the time, anyway that said still GO BULLS!
By the way why is Francois Venter not in the touring squad, is he injured? Or is there any strength to the rumour mill that he is maybe eyeing up a move away…
What is the feeling about this game?
Methinks that the Blues will run everything and the Bulls will kick everything.
I can’t see the Bulls winning. (which if my superbru is anything to go on, means that they will)
8 @ Loosehead:
Bulls to surprise you and many others and win this one
JJ Engelbrecht is kukkas, nie n Springbok se alie nie, hys die nuwe Jorrie Muller/Christiaan Scoltz/Gus Theron van SA rugby….moes Jan Serfontein daar gehad het.
Ook Chiliboy moes in beginspan gewees het.
Verder is die span reg, imo.
Bulle soek net n bonus verloorpunt minimum hier, oftewel 6 punte in totaal vir die toer, en die kind se naam is Wit Willem!
@ Bullscot:
Vatso!!!!
Jurgen Visser is n veelsydige speler, hy was losskakel en Johan Sadie was senter (beide van Paarl Gim) in daai WP-Cravenweek-span van Nic Koster wat 50-3 teen Vrystaat op Stellenbosch verloor het in die finaal.
Die Ebersohn-tweeling, Jacques du Toit en Wilton Pieterson (heelagter) het hulle daai dag faktup gehardloop in die reen!
Ek was daar.
Jammer van Wilton, hy het verdwyn na daai motorongeluk in Bloemfontein, hy was n gemerkte Springbok deur en deur.
So, Jurgen kan oral in die agterlyn speel, hy het die hande en bedrieglike spoed, baie soos Slaptjips Roussouw.
12 @ Pietman:
Interesting that bit about Jurgen Visser, I don’t know why but I was of the impression that he would have been older than Nic Koster who I remember so much being written about as a school boy prodigy, not sure if Koster has quite lived up to all the hype from back then possibly due all the injuries he has had and maybe being thrown in to big rugby too soon, think also did they not try him on the wing at WP for a bit too. Also loads being written about the Ebersohn’s especially Rob, interesting that they are both established Super rugby players by now while Visser has not yet had the chance to show what he can do at that level. That must have been a pretty good Free State team do you have the rest of the team, where does Jacques du Toit play now.
@ Pietman:
Also interesting Pietman that you compare Visser with Pieter Roussouw especially the bit about hands, the one thing I used to wonder about Roussouw was that as good as he was for me he seemed to struggle to flowingly pass the ball, always looked to me like he would have to turn his body in the direction that he was passing just before passing just looked awkward to me and the kind of player that was rather more suited to his position that he played on the wing, just couldn’t seem him being a silky distributor to both sides if he would have had to play centre. But he has done well to be backline coach at this level so maybe that was just an odd perception I had of him.
11 @ Pietman:
@ Bullscot:
@13 I have been wondering about Francois du Toit myself.
He (Free State), Gary van Aswegen (Pumas) and Elton Jantjies (Lions) played against each other in the semis and finals at the subsequent Craven Week (Affies in Pretoria), and Du toit outshone them all…..a bit like Francois Steyn he was, sturdy, quick and with a big boot.
@ Bullscot:
Nic Koster eventually ended up at wing in that final! Free State ran them ragged that day….Blikore always play well in rainy Cape weather, lol!!!
@ grootblousmile:
Name 1 13 in the Super Rugby tournament who got solid defense? 13 Need speed 12 needs to tackle like a demon. Why didn’t they play Hougie on the wing rather?
@ Pietman:
Like the CC final they lost
@ Bliksem:
Which final, at Newlands?
I remember WP losing twice against Free State at Newlands in the rain, the day Eben Jansen floored Morne with a haymaker was one, happened right in front of me!
@ Pietman:
I remeber WP beating Freestate in a Currie Cup final despite having a smaller pack. One of the best for me was the one where WP were camped out in their own 22 and scored long distance try after another to beat them. But yes Freestate like to break our players legs cough cough Calla Scholtz and then that bloody streaker
@ Bliksem:
Yup, streaker game was at Free State Stadium, Brian Baenhoff from Welkom tackling FC Smit on the way to a certain try……net balle wat waai, lol!
No, I was actually referring to Free State winning in the wet on Newlands when everyone thought the Cape winter weather would favour WP….
@ Pietman:
I it the Franna du Toit playing for Shimlas in Varsity Cup. See he played Free Stae u/18 in 2008,
@ Pietman:
Nah there is nothing like the weather favoring you. Its the guy with the biggest pack that actually got the advantage and the Freestate always had a monster pack compared to WP in the 90’s and 2000’s.
But we don’t mind losing to them as Freestate is the side that everyone in SA (except the Vaalies maybe) have a soft spot for and they are one of the most important factories in SA rugby (and Tjarkie rugby). As for Badenhof
Boozed of Freestaters can tackle a Ox FC had no chance!
I notice the Blues made a lot of changes as well.
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