Akona Ndungane

Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke recalled Springbok wings Akona Ndungane and Bjorn Basson to his team to face the EP Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday (19:10 kick-off).

They replace Sampie Mastriet and Jamba Ulengo, who started against the Golden Lions last week. They are two of three changes to the backline for the clash in Port Elizabeth.

In another rotational move, Piet van Zyl will start at scrumhalf, with Rudy Paige moving to the bench.

Ludeke selected the same starting pack that excelled in the 36-26 victory over the Lions.

He did tweak his bench though with William Small-Smith (for Ryan Nell) coming back to the team as replacement. Bandise Maku will also deputise for Bongi Mbonambi with Callie Visagie rested. Tian Schoeman is bracketed with Tony Jantjies, who will undergo a fitness test before departure to Port Elizabeth.

“We have finally picked up some momentum in the competition and it is important to keep that going. To have two Springboks in Akona and Bjorn coming back to full fitness is also great and I have no doubt that they will play a big role in our effort needed against a very capable Kings side,” said Ludeke.

“We delivered a good performance against the Lions, but now need to justify that with another one against the Kings. They may be winless, but is playing a brand of rugby that will demand only the best from our defence. We will have to be sharp to beat them,” concluded Ludeke.

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Gary van Aswegen will start at flyhalf in one of four changes to the EP Kings side to face the Blue Bulls in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

Van Aswegen has missed the last two games with a groin injury, but has returned to take over from the inconsistent George Whitehead in the pivot position. Elsewhere in the backline, Shane Gates returns at inside centre in place of Dwayne Jenner.

Up front, Aidon Davis has been ruled out with a knee injury, with Paul Schoeman shifting to No 8 and Devon Oosthuizen coming in on the side of the scrum. In the final change to the starting XV, Springbok prop CJ van der Linde gets his first start of the season at tighthead.

There are further changes on the bench after both Siyanda Grey and Thembelani were ruled out with a chest infection. Darron Nell will make his return along with BG Uys, while Simon Kerrod and Ntabeni Dukisa will get a rare chance to impress from the bench.

Teams:

EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Ronnie Cooke, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Devon Oosthuizen, 6 Shaun McDonald, 5 Steven Sykes (Captain), 4 David Bulbring, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Mike van Vuuren, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 BG Uys, 19 Darron Nell, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Tobie Botes, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa.

Blue Bulls: 15 Ulrich Beyers, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann (Captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Basil Short, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht , 20 Rudi Paige, 21 Tian Schoeman / Tony Jantjies, 22 William Small-Smith.