Frans Ludeke has named his Bulls match 23 for Saturday’s Loftus derby against the Sharks, featuring just two changes to the unit that dispatched the Blues in their last outing before the bye.
Dewald Potgieter, whose loan move from Japanese club Yamaha has now been agreed, start at number 8 in place of Jono Ross, becoming the fifth man to wear the jersey in as many starts. Jono Ross, who started the season at openside flank before shifting to 8 for the Blues game, finds himself on the bench this week, where he displaces Jacques Engelbrecht.
In the other change, rookie Sampie Mastriet returns from the SA Sevens camp to start at right wing, as Akona Ndungane is unavailable due to bereavement. Like his brother Odwa, who is unavailable for the Sharks, the older Ndungane twin remains with family in Umtata as they lay to rest clan patriarch Zingisa.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Sampie Mastriet, 13 J J Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Dewald Potgieter, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip vd Merwe (captain), 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Marcel vd Merwe, 18 Paul Willemse, 19 Jono Ross, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Handré Pollard, 22 Ulrich Beyers, 23 Morné Mellet
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Would have preferred that the more pedestrian Ross start against us. Dewald will probably be a real handful. He tends to punch above his weight.
Go bulls!!!
@vanmartin (Comment 1) :
RED CARD for punching!
@KingsArmy (Comment 2) :
he Bulls are destined to win; in fact I heard this from 2 sources this week. 1stly the Oracle from Boksburg Gorg van Rensburg a distant relative of the famous Siener van Rensburg and Wynie’s wife who claimed that former Bulls manager Wynie Strydom woke up on Sunday morning with an erection shouting Pale Toe Dewald pale toe!
If we can be sure of one thing, it is this…there will be kicking, lots of kicking 🙄
I don’t think their team announcement means much outside of who’ll be playing at fh. Their game starts and ends there.
Bulls by 15+ guaranteed, Sharks by far and away the underdogs, hear my message and repeat :D.
There better be kicking….and mauling, lots of mauling……love mauling, almost as much as I love up-and-unders! Lol!
Thats a much better balanced Bulls side. Will be extremely tough for the Sharks.
Amazing what a change JLP brought to this team. Compare the 2014 version with the one that played for the Sharks a few years ago – chalk and cheese.
Bulls have got a big strong pack, and think that the Sharks will try and play this one wide where possible.
@stevovo (Comment 10) : got to exploit the obvious mismatch between Mvovo and Mastriet
I hear the Bulls have just lost Flip to injury…
@chikkoz (Comment 12) : yes, just about to get it up