Jake White is excited to see a four-year process at the Vodacom Bulls bear fruit, with the selection of a formidable and Springbok-powered lineup to face Ulster on Saturday.
Ruan Nortje and Elrigh Louw lead the Herd as two of the six returning Springboks for the third-round 2024-25 Vodacom URC clash in Pretoria.
White has assembled a pack comprising Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw in the front row. Lock Cobus Wiese will combine with Nortje for the first time in the second row while behind them, Louw is set to pack down with loose forwards Marco van Staden and Cameron Hanekom.
In the backline, Embrose Papier and Boeta Chamberlain start at scrumhalf and flyhalf, respectively. Kurt-Lee Arendse comes in at left wing with Sebastian de Klerk switching to the right, with two-time World Cup winner Willie le Roux returning to marshal the last line of defence.
David Kriel returns to his regular role at inside centre, alongside No 13 Canan Moodie. The occasion will also mark half-century appearances for Grobbelaar and Kriel in the competition.
TEAM: Bok brigade boosts Bulls
The Pretoria outfit has a five-three split on the bench that features Akker van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Francois Klopper, Sintu Manjezi, Celimpilo Gumede, Keagan Johannes, Stedman Gans and Aphiwe Dyantyi.
Ninth-placed Ulstermen visit Loftus Versfeld for the second leg of their South African tour, just a point ahead of their hosts on the log. White, though, is careful not to let that inspire complacency from his troops ahead of their three-week tour of Europe.
“I am looking forward to seeing how we play because there is everything there, we have good forwards and good backs with good pace, skill and a bit of everything,” the director of rugby said.
“This will be the strongest team we have fielded in four years from an experience point of view, and an achievement point of view; like we have Springboks in key positions and even on the bench.
“We all know that just because you have a strong team does not make anything automatic but it is exciting to see that our four years are coming together now. We have a front row and a backline of Springboks.”
“There is still a job to be done, this is a big game against Ulster, who have also managed not to roll over because they are a good team,” White added.
“They may not have got the results but they have toured South Africa very well in the past and I expect it to be a tough game.”
Photo: ©Vodacom Bulls
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