Loose forward Arno Botha will captain a strong Bulls side in Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against the Sharks in Durban.
Nollis Marais welcomes back centre Dries Swanepoel and impressive winger Travis Ismaiel this week, but has lost the services of Daniel Kriel and in-form hooker Edgar Marutlulle.
Ismaiel comes in at right wing, with Jamba Ulengo shifting left to replace Bjorn Basson. Swanepole starts at 13 in a direct swap with Kriel, while the balance of the backline that played against the Kings last week is unchanged.
A single shift up front sees Jacobie Adriaanse move up from the bench to start at tighthead prop, replacing Entienne Swanepoel. Springbok Bandise Maku replaces Marutlulle on the bench, in one of a number of changes to the reserves.
Blue Bulls: 15 Duncan Matthews, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha (captain), 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Martin Dreyer, 18 Nic de Jager, 19 Hanro Liebenberg, 20 Andre Warner, 21 Joshua Stander, 22 Ulrich Beyers.
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Thats a solid side but nothing magical there. They will tackle and run hard but if Sharks can handle that there isnt too much else from them. Having said that the Sharks made heavy work playing the Bulls in Super rugby…
Faaaak! the back-line looks gevaarlik! So is their capt…
Not that I want to sound arrogant but if a near full strength Sharks SR squad can’t win this I think we’re in for some trouble. However on saying this no win is ever deserved based on your team sheet and the Sharks best show respect to the opposition otherwise we may be in for a real fight.
I foresee a Bonus point Victory!
The Sharks should take this opportunity to give the flou nulle such a big psychological knock, they won`t be able to face us with any confidence for the next 3 years At the Very Least!
Black and White
Nothing Else Matters!
@Original Pierre (Comment 4) : ja, that’s just the sort of arrogance we don’t need this week 😉
I kind of wish we had that arrogance,every single crappier team takes it to them and either beat them (Cheetahs) or run them very close (Kings),we on the other hand drop down to a poor team’s level and they beat us with experience,we never annihilate a team that is not playing very well.
Go Sharks!!!
Will be interesting to see how the Sharks scrum do especially Dale vs Adriaanse!!!
@JD (Comment 8) : Older brother Adriaanse isnt very strong in the scrum
@SheldonK (Comment 9) : maybe not strongest scrummer in the world but still not to bad. Think Dale will have to concentrate and work at the scrums.
@JD (Comment 10) : I would hope that he always does irrespective of opposition
@BarendL (Comment 6) : Are you dissing the Cheetahs???
Maybe we should reserve judgement until the Sharks have actually played against the top tier teams.
Cheetahs have already beaten WP away, Bulls at home and Boland away. I don’t actually know what to make of the Sharks form to date. They whipped the Pumas, and soundly beat the Griquas and Boland away. That said, Griquas away is a different prospect., one the Sharks won’t have to deal with. Maybe we will have a clearer picture after this weekend.
@KingCheetah (Comment 12) : Cheetahs looking pretty good this CC. They have has some consistency coming from Super rugby and if they can keep that and keep their good players fit and at the Union they will continue to improve. Still think they lacking quality in their tight 5 though…especially going into Super rugby
@KingCheetah (Comment 12) : Sharks looking already better than previous years as they had a habit of loosing to Kwas (even in Durbs) and Pumas.
Must say Cheetahs surprising me they’re really doing well. Glad for you guys!
@Original Pierre (Comment 4) : Well I am going to the game with exactly that attitude,hoping we give these bonehead bulls the thrashing they needed since Habanna conspired with the Failed New Zealander, fake Aussie cheat Walsh to step our Super Cup,and then that turkey in his Jesus T shirt climbed up like a monkey on our goal posts.
Hate is a strong word,but it encompasses my feelings for the Bulls whenever I remember that game.
@SheldonK (Comment 11) : for sure! Looking forward to their battle!!!
@KingCheetah (Comment 12) : Not at all,think they are looking quite decent,what I mean is before the start of the CC,not many people gave them a chance coming from a very poor Super86,but they believed in themselves and beat the Bulls,purely because they knew they were better and believed it and made them pay,we on the other hand don’t believe that and rather drop down to their level instead of putting them away.
@The hound (Comment 15) : Agree 100%,cant stand anything bulls related! 😈
@BarendL (Comment 17) : Hang in there chap we haven’t played the game yet,
@robdylan (Comment 5) : Rob this is the attitude we don’t need here not Pierre’s
@KingCheetah (Comment 12) : Didnt see the WP game but was scratching my head at how WP gave away 6 kickable penalties to you guys. Were they that heavily under the cosh during the game. or was it a pretty even game.
@SheldonK (Comment 13) : They do indeed, especially in the second row. Not sure if Dennis Visser will be able to fill the void left by Lood. the front row is showing a healthy upwards curve, and the loosies well balanced.
@JD (Comment 14) : I am quietly optimistic. Still early days. Hope the form continues.
@KingCheetah (Comment 22) : same here!
@The hound (Comment 19) : awkward
good bulls team but its’s anyone’s game really, excited to watch this one.
must say I had fun in boland last week, great to see the players in person
Inny looked really impressive. great hand on that kid, he made some poor passes look good.
I didnt get to watch the replay of the game. from a live perspective it looked like venters accuracy in passing was worse.and ungerer did ok.
Bosch didnt seem to have a bad game, and April looked good when he came on
We have some exciting back line players in Lambie, Bosch, April and Radebe
Wandile did fine when he came on, but heimar struggled
Inny wont really have to bulk up as his not super tall, his very well built for his height, bosch doesnt look frail in person but because his quite tall its best he build muscle but not in a way that hinders his style of play.
thomas is monster, and chilli is smaller than I expected
All the player and the coaches were super respectful and kind to fans, kinda felt bad for the boland players and not may wanted to tall to or take a pic with any of them.
that Meyer kid on the bench, is he a loose head of tight head ? how old is he as he looks way older than a u21 player lol, kinda like Lourens has always look like a old dude, not that I care, Lourens scrums the stuffing out of the apposing player
@revolverocelot (Comment 25) : must say glad you enjoyed it.
Quick Google on Meyer seems he’s a loose head and was born 1993. Played for Maties last year.
@KingCheetah (Comment 12) : I’ve been very impressed with your manne so far!
@The hound (Comment 15) : The day…that rugby died…
@Original Pierre (Comment 4) : I like the spirit! Let’s hope the boys are ready to deliver in a more challenging match like they did in the practise matches we had Thusfar.
@robdylan (Comment 5) : Sometimes cocky and arrogant helps where insecure and under confidence fails.
As arrogant as pierres comments were there is a pinch of truth in them. When last in the last or three seasons have the sharks been in this position. Its time for the gameplan to come together with confidence for the sharks to build on what theyve achieved already. Bulls have not lit the cc up yet and we should expect win at home
I’m happy for the guy. But this was not a good time for us to lose Adriaanse.
@revolverocelot (Comment 25) : I will have to disagree with you regarding Ungerer. He was our worst player on the field against Boland IMO. Took ages to get the ball out, his passing was very erratic, some good(like any SH’s should be) and other just very bad. You can even see it on the 6min Highlight package that SuperSport has on their website. With AE’s try, he collected the pass from Ungerer above his head which broke his speed. Not the only instance. He also doesn’t clear immediately, he has that little irritating run that a lot of scrummies do before they pass, you can see that in the 1st clip on the highlights where he gets caught with the ball after one of those little runs. Boland player knocked his pass down which resulted to him being sent off though so he got lucky. He needs to up his game, he broke a lot of our momentum going forward, except if that is what he’s being asked to do, which I doubt.
@Quintin (Comment 33) : Just to clear something up…people often complain that a scrummy doesnt just clear from the base and that they have this little run before passing. Well thats on instruction from a coach and the call he gets from his 10. There are 2 different methods and it depends on what the coach wants the scrummy to do- either clear immediately from the base and have players running off the 10…or pick up and fix the first defenders before feeding it to the 10 or other runners. Its just different ways of playing dependent on the team attack and opposition defense so bit unfair to criticise a player because of it. Having said that i think both Ungerer and Venter could be more accurate in their passes..but id take both over Claasens currently.
@Quintin (Comment 33) : Kinda reluctantly agree with you on Ungerer,I was a huge fan when he first started,but he never ever came back from that injury in the game in Aus ,when he did his hammy,catching Bieber’s atrocious kick to score hobbling over the line.
The thing that pisses me off we have two Natal N09 boys , both discarded by the Sharks,one captaining the Lions and one captaining the Cheetahs.
Tian Meyer should be our no9.
@SheldonK (Comment 34) : To me it doesn’t make sense to do that on the opposition 5m line with players coming in with speed and will most likely over run his pass because he’s taking too long to get it away, which is what happened in that instance. Other times the receivers stand still and wait not to over run the pass, so they get tackled with no forward momentum. And he does that run way too often, I couldn’t see a lot of variation from him. Only caught my eye against Boland. Didn’t notice it before so I don’t know if he’s always like that or it was just that game.
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : Thanks, let’s hope our teams continue to perform and entertain.
@SheldonK (Comment 34) : The one time he did clear from the base of the ruck Odwa went over for a try. The one he had his little run, AE was just outside the 5m begging for it when Ungerer got tackled.
@Quintin (Comment 36) : @Quintin (Comment 38) : Those occassions you mention sound to me like the player receiving the ball is not giving good communication to the scrummy. If they want quick ball straight off the base there will be a specific call for that otherwise the scrummy will pick up and fix the first few defenders before passing. So in AE’s case- he very possibly got excited and didnt call and thus his timing of his run wasnt good. If he did call early and Ungerer didnt respond then it is his fault. Just saying that its not always entirely the scrummy at fault…he relies on communication as his back to the players and if the coach’s instruction is to fix the first defenders before passing then thats what he will do majority of the time.
@SheldonK (Comment 39) : Yeah I get that it’s not always the scrummie, but I suggest you watch the extended highlights on dstv catch-up. To me at least, he seemed to be the one making the wrong decisions. Not saying he is shit though, like I said he might have had a bad game because I didn’t notice it in the previous ones, this game he just caught my eye for a number of wrong reasons, and his runs from the ruck was only one of them. Aimless kicking, decision making(going himself when there’s opportunity for others, kicking when it’s on to pass etc.) and overall pass accuracy being some of the others. But I agree, I would still pick him over Claasens at the moment. He had some good moments but like I said his play was very erratic/inconsistent. It’s still early in the competition so we’ll see what he does from this weekend onward.
@Quintin (Comment 40) : Look i only was able to watch the first half of the Boland game and then highlights of the 2nd half but the half i did watch Ungerer really wasnt that bad, i actually thought he was pretty decent. Yes his execution could have been pin point but show me one player that was? He kicked in our own half and im not unhappy about that- i dont think that is aimless. I think we are perhaps being seriously harsh on a player. So yes he does throw the occassional inaccurate pass…but hell so does Aaron Smith and he is the best in the world. Barring Odwa the backline is barely 22yrs old…if we expect perfect execution and calm decision making i think we are dreaming. There will be exciting play but there will also be mistakes…just tough to blame 1 guy i feel
@revolverocelot (Comment 25) : Johnny Meyer is 22. He’s something of a utility prop, but more comfortable at 3.
@robdylan (Comment 42) : interesting as everything I got referred to him as a loose head. Just shows you contacts beats Google! Ant idea when the Sharks team will be available?
@JD (Comment 43) : Team is out…just waiting on Robbo…
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : ja saw it on Sharks website. For once they got it up before Rob could post it.
Not a bad team!
The bulls have a good loose trio and its gonna be tough . That steenkamp looks like a really hard player