The Bulls have named a very experienced team to face the Lions in the opening round of the Super Rugby season, to be played at Coca Cola Park on Saturday afternoon.
Coach Frans Ludeke is able to select 15 players who beat the Stormers in the final of the 2010 Super 14 final, with the only new face in the team being that of new acquisition Bjorn Basson. The team has a combined 1059 caps to its name, with captain Victor Matfield having 109 of them! As mentioned earlier, Fourie Du Preez will play in his 100th Super Rugby game.
The Bulls will have a strong forward pack, with the world’s best lock pairing playing together for who knows how many matches now, behind a front row of big boys in Steenkamp, Botha and Kruger. The loose forwards have in them Springboks aplenty with Stegmann and Potgieter flanking and big Pierre Spies at the back.
The backline sees the return of the General, Fourie du Preez, pairing with Morne Steyn to make a formidable combination in the halfbacks. Wynand Olivier partners relatively new Stephan Dippenaar in the centres with Jaco Pretorius injured. The back three sees flyers van den Heever and Basson partnering with Zane Kirchner in a fast and furious combination of attack and pace.
The substitutes has a mixed bag of experience and youth, with Danie Rossouw having more than a 100 caps in Super Rugby sitting next ot Rossouw de Klerk, Ruan Snyman and Francois Brummer, each with only 1 cap. Chiliboy Ralepelle and Jaco van der Westhuyzen complete the bench.
The Bulls team (Super Caps in brackets) is:
Zane Kirchner (40), Gerhard van den Heever (17), Stephan Dippenaar (12), Wynand Olivier (71), Bjorn Basson (9), Morne Steyn (73), Fourie du Preez (99), Pierre Spies (56), Dewald Potgieter (31), Deon Stegmann (39), Victor Matfield (109), Bakkies Botha (86), Werner Kruger (42), Gary Botha (73), Gurthro Steenkamp (66)
Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle (19), Rossouw de Klerk (1), Danie Rossouw (102), Derick Kuün (56), Ruan Snyman (1), Francois Brummer (1), Jaco van der Westhuyzen (56).
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Gonna be tough to beat ..thats for sure.
Bench doesn’t look that intimidating other than Rossouw.
My one wish would be to see the back of Jaco VDW 👿
These okes are beatable. But only just. Looking for JC Janse van Rensburg to step up this year. He’s my dark horse pick for WC. Hope he smashes Bulls at scrum time.
“The loose forwards have in them Springboks aplenty with Stegmann and Potgieter flanking and big Pierre Spies at the back.” For me, Spies is the only true Springbok, Stegmann is the crappest flanker to have ever donned the green jersey…
@CapeShark (Comment 3) :
Im trying to hype them beyond belief and try jinx them into a loss..
@Speed7 (Comment 2) :
I guess the one thing going for us is that we play them first up ..they will be rusty and hopefully we are less rusty given our extensive pre-season to sneak a win.
The Bulls should get stronger as the season progresses.
@csb (Comment 5) :
That actually makes sense, I like your thinking..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 4) :
Keep up the good work 😉
Yip. Lions need to get-up and running quickly. Some good momentum and clean slate should help.
I’ll be surprised if this Bulls side lose on Saturday. But anything is posible.
It will be very important for the Lions to win this one at home. I think they feel they have the pre-season momentum in their favour and must build on that. A close loss wont be too bad but a heavy defeat will sow the seeds of self doubt.
Let the games begin…. 😈
Bulls should take this. Won’t be pretty though.
The Bulls 1st team looks good but a few injuries could have them in trouble. The bench isn’t very impressive bar Rossouw.
@Pokkel (Comment 13) :
Their backline is also mediocre once you get outside of Steyn.
The thing is though, we had the same issue in the Currie Cup, we didn’t have any BIG names but as a team we were awesome.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 14) : To be fair Timotei Olivier has always been impressive in Super rugby and Bjorn Basson will be good but the rest are pretty average.
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : Vd Heever wasnt bad either in last years S14. Didnt achieve much in the CC though.
@Jarson (AddicteD) (Comment 16) : van der Heever was at the right place at the right time….which is a talent in itself…but I won’t trade him for Mvovo!
@Pokkel (Comment 17) :
Ala Kabous vd Westhuizen in the day. Finished a shitload of tries but didn’t MAKE that many of them on his own.
Still both good players though.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 18) : exactly the comparison that I was thinking about
@Pokkel (Comment 17) : Neither would I. 🙂
Throw in Marius Jonker and things are looking bleak for lions.
But hey it`s early days anything is still possible.
@Speed7: re: jc j v rensburg: when the lions were chasing after beast,I thought the sharks shouldve made an aggressive play for him(not to trade for beast but to keep beast and get jc j v rensburg)
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : Pokkel, not only do you currently have the coolest avatar on SW, you’ve also just coined the best rugby nickname EVER… Timotei Olivier!
Lol 😀
@Pokkel (Comment 15) : I love that nickname… Timotei… I like to call him Prince Charming though. Anyone who has seen Shrek II will understand!
@KSA Shark © (Comment 18) : Aah. Kabous. Or Caboose as the pommie commentators called him. Now he didn’t use Timotei.
Is that because you think he talks like Justin timberlake Sharon?? Haha!
@Culling Song (Comment 23) : Definitely the coolest avatar. And definitely the coolest moment in CC rugby history!
@ruggabugga (Comment 27) : Actually, Prince Charming was voiced by Rupert Everett (who’s gay). You’re thinking of Prince Arthur, in Shrek III. I am referring to the moment when Charming tries to seduce Fiona by shaking his shoulder-length blond hair seductively, wearing lip-gloss and flashing his unbelievably white teeth. Do you get the connection now?
I like Kirchner’s nicname ‘Krusty’ the clown 😀
Don’t know why, but Philip Burger reminds me of Eric Cartman…
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 31) : eric is to short and stubby to be Burger, but i do dislike both. 🙂
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 31) : @KSA Shark © (Comment 32) : Some people like Spongebob, I love South Park 😳 😛
so what have I missed today? Somebody give me a summary.
Jeepers, but Lisbon is wet and windy today!
@robdylan (Comment 34) : This and that with a little bit of those 🙂
@robdylan (Comment 34) :
Nothing much other than the guys behaving well on Morne’s transformation thread. 😛
wow, but that’s a hell of a team… Lions are gonna KAK.
@robdylan (Comment 37) :
if you think that is good, look at the Canes’ backline. 😯
Highlanders are going to be tackling ALLLLLL day long.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 36) : eh? Is that what is was about? 😯
@robdylan (Comment 39) : hehehehehheehe 😆
I for one hope that morne steyn has a terrible season!
@Ben (Comment 41) : Evil it may be, but I’m with you on that one, bru. Sad thing is, the guy is a machine. And an accurate one at that.
@robdylan (Comment 37) : Think so too, sadly. Would love to see them stick one on the smurfs. What u doing in Lisboa?
@Ben (Comment 41) : He peaked already.
Shadow is so overrated.
There back line only have FDP,MS and now BB although I think that bb is not going ti shine so much in the bulls team.
I hope the lions take this.
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 43) : I will know more after tomorrow. It involves Vodafone and information security 🙂
No way,I hope morne steyn kicks even better this season! ..it is for the other flyhalves to up their goalkicking to match morne steyn..it will be better for the other fh’s to know that they much work hard on all aspects of their game if they want to play pro rugby and for the boks.
Much equals must
@robdylan (Comment 48) : Sounds fun… and kind of “this tape will self-destruct in five seconds”… You CIA Rob?
@SharonvanWyk (Comment 42) : @Honey Badger (Comment 44) : I really dislike him a lot and don’t rate him at apart from his kicking.
@Ben (Comment 52) : The same.
His english is very bad and I quote “I must done a lot of work must done to drop kicks good”
Me and Morne is on the same english level sadly.. 😳
@Honey Badger (Comment 53) : Look I don’t hate the guy as I don’t know him personally so can’t judge him as a person. But on the rugby field I really don’t like his guts!
But have to say my least liked player in SA at the moment is derick kuun. What a twat!!!
@Culling Song (Comment 23) : I actually think you’re avatar is the coolest but thanks anyway. I cannot however take credit for the Timotei name….I must confess I heard it elsewhere but a very apt name nonetheless 😀