The Bulls have named a frighteningly strong team to take on the Sharks at Loftus.
Captain Wikus van Heerden returns at blindside flank, with Deon Stegmann continuing to operate on the open side. Last week’s 7, Danie Rossouw, moves into the second row to partner Willhelm Steenkamp. Francois van Schouwenburg is the man to lose out, and he will occupy the reserve lock spot on the bench, with Fudge Mabetha dropping out of the match 22 altogether.
Pedrie Wannenberg will continue at the back of the scrum, but last weekend’s anti-hero Hilton Lobberts has been dropped fro the squad. The Bulls have opted for only 4 forward reserves this week and have brought in Namibian international Jacques Burger to cover the loose forward positions from the bench.
The backline remains unchanged from the one that did duty against WP, so JP Joubert and Morné Steyn will continue as the halfbacks. There will be a welcome return for Derrick Hougaard and Zane Kirchner, who have both been named on the bench after recovering from various aliments. Francois Hougaard retains the number 20 jersey, with Burton Francis joining Okkie Kruger as the other members of last week’s 22 to miss out.
Here is the side:
15 Mangweni, 14 Ndungane, 13 Delport, 12 Olivier, 11 Mametsa, 10 Steyn, 9 Joubert, 8 Wannenberg, 7 van Heerden (capt), 6 Stegmann, 5 Steenkamp, 4 Rossouw, 3 Kruger, 2 Kuün, 1 Engels
16 Maku, 17 Gerber, 18 van Schouwenburg, 19 Burger, 20 F Hougaard, 21 D Hougaard, 22 Kirchner
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we ain’t gonna take these guys… not the way our pack is playing
Eish… the Bulls lost last week AND the game is at Loftus.
I hope the Sharks take it but I wouldn’t put money on it. 🙄
no Lobberts has seriously diminished the Sharks’ chances.
@wpw (Comment 2) : only if it was your money! 😉
No seriously it will be a hard game, if the Sharks can play to their potential maybe they can pull it off. But I would keep my money in my pocket… I think this could be a bleak weekend.
Bulls squad looks strong…so we’re definitely going to Loftus as underdogs…but it’s not a done deal.
We’ll just have to wait and see if our boys can pull up their socks and fight hard for this one.
Sharks forever!
Well, Morné Steyn seems to be playing well with Hougie on the bench and we all know they hardly have bad games at Moftus.
Tough one for the Sharks.
Shows how good WP were to get a victory last week.
it’s not a very good backline that they have… problem is, neither is ours at the moment. And our forwards are worse.
Oh boy – and I am going to be at Loftus! Should I wear my Sharks shirt – am I feeling brave? Always!
It’s a pity Willie Roos’ ankle is still broken 😉
Hi KSA – you still in SA?
I suppose it’s a question of “Who does he dislike more?” Us or the Bulls? 😉
Blue Bulls vs Sharks in Pretoria
Referee: JC Fortuin
Touch judges: Christie du Preez, Cobus Wessels
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel
All the refs for the weekend.
Now I would think that for a weekend like this the ref’s for the Pretoria and Wellington matches would have been the other way around. 🙁
Boland vs Griquas in Wellington
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Jerome America, Linston Manuels
Television match official: Willie Roos
Assessor: Thuso Mngqibisa
Lions vs Valke in Johannesburg
Referee: Phillip Bosch
Touch judges: Jaco Peyper, Peet Badenhorst
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: Richard Nash
Blue Bulls vs Sharks in Pretoria
Referee: JC Fortuin
Touch judges: Christie du Preez, Cobus Wessels
Television match official: Michael Cupido
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel
Western Province vs Cheetahs at Newlands
Referee: Craig Joubert
Touch judges: Theuns Jonker, Roderick Barry
Television match official: Willie Roos
Assessor: Thusa Mngqibisa
I would have preferred Johathan Kaplan any day!
@Nessa (Comment 13) :
Same here. 😉
You going to the game with a big coat to cover up your hsarks clothes AFTER the game? 😉
I remember during the 90’s after winning the Curr Cup the year before, going to the return match against TVL the next year at KP. My friend had got his mother to make hima Black & White Tracksuite for the occasion, boy where we wrong the Vaalies thrashed us. We had a very humiliating walk through the car park after the game. I suppose we will never be told how much it has cost the union to get Smit back, but I would think its going to prevent buying any Stars for the future, also if they are saving money to buy Butch back I can’t see them spending any money as a stop gap for the lack of player depth.
I thought Wikus was injured for like forever….
You’ve got him confused with Andre ‘Sicknote’ Pretorius.
@Dynamite (Comment 15) : luckily there’s no shortage of quality players seeing out their retirement with the Bedford Blues. Rudi has plans to bring them all back, one by one.