Handre Pollard will start at flyhalf for the Vodacom Bulls in this weekend’s Newlands derby, while two former Junior Springbok forwards look set for Super Rugby debuts off the bench.
Frans Ludeke has picked his strongest available line-up for the clash, with Bok captain Victor Matfield joining French-bound youngster Paul Willemse in the second row. Grant Hattingh moves to number 8, with Jacques Engelbrecht at blind side flank in place of the injured Jacques du Plessis.
Pollard spearheads a predictable backline that includes fellow Boks in Francois Hougaard, Jan Serfontein, JJ Engelbrecht, Bjorn Basson and Akona Ndungane.
Marvin Orie (lock) and Roelof Smit (loose forward) are the uncapped youngsters on the bench.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Grant Hattingh, 7 Jacques Engelbrecht, 6 Jono Ross , 5 Victor Matfield (Capt), 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Mornè Mellett, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 23 William Small-Smith
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Very glad about Orie and Smit’s inclusion. Orie was always earmarked for bigger things, but with so many loose forwards in front of him, Smit was always gonna suck the hindt_t.
Against the Stormers, starting with Smit instead of Ross might have been better.
@Blue Centurion (Comment 1) : That team lacks a to the ball player. Ross is not an open side. Fourie and Vermeulen will have a field day at the breakdown.
@Bokhoring (Comment 2) : Not necessarily. The Bulls have used their big boys to maul over the ball at the breakdown with some measure of success this season. They struggled to keep the intensity with that approach at Kings Park but used it well in a few other games.