The Vodacom Bulls have chosen close to their strongest available squad, with a power bench to boot, as they prepare to take on the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Bulls have brought back their Springboks who missed out on the win over the Lions - including Wilco Louw and Handre Pollard - while Canan Moodie returns to the midfield for the clash.
David Kriel will start at 15, as Willie le Roux is on the bench to cover 10 and 15 while Louw, World Cup winner Marco van Staden, Springbok Cobus Wiese and in-form loose forward Jeandre Rudolph all form part of a powerful bench. Sti Sithole, who joined the side at the start of the season from the Stormers, is on the bench and set to get onto the field in a Bulls jersey for the first time.
Kriel is at fullback with speedsters Sebastian de Klerk and Kurt-Lee Arendse forming the back three. Moodie and Harold Vorster make up the midfield while Pollard is partnered by Embrose Papier in the backline.
Marcell Coetzee captains the side and has Elrigh Louw and veteran Nizaam Carr as his loose trio partners. Ruan Nortje and Ruan Vermaak fill the engine room while Alulutho Tshakweni, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Mornay Smith are the front row.
With both Johan Grobbelaar and Akker van der Merwe out with neck issues, the Bulls are lucky to have Wessels as back-up and Van Staden who can double as hooker and flanker when needed.
Grobbelaar took a knock to the neck against the Lions and while scans showed it was soft tissue damage and not more serious, he felt it during the warm-up game against Boland and was taken off as a precaution. Van der Merwe had an op to repair some damage, and both are expected back within weeks, with Grobbelaar likely to front up against the Stormers again.
Kriel’s move to 15 is a natural one, and one where he made his name before becoming the Bulls Swiss army knife that could play in any position.
Ackermann said he was hoping Kriel could flourish in the position.
“I think it is credit to David, he has been patient and has helped us all over the backline. But he came on against the Lions at 15 and did really well. So that was probably where we really started to think about that. As the week went past, he trained there and showed some good signs. Willie is also covering 10, so the good thing is if we can get a fresh Willie off the bench, it will benefit us,” Ackermann said.
“He is a team guy, so he wants to play wherever we want to use him. I can’t tell you what he prefers, centre or fullback, but he is comfortable in all those positions. Personally, looking at the way he trained, hopefully he can do that.”
The Bulls are currently eighth and the Sharks 10th on the log, although just one point separates the two sides. The Bulls have a game in hand.
VODACOM BULLS
15 David Kriel (Grey Bloem), 14 Sebastian de Klerk (Boland Landbou), 13 Canan Moodie (Boland Landbou), 12 Harold Vorster (Frans du Toit, Phalaborwa), 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Paulus Joubert), 10 Handre Pollard (Paarl Gym), 9 Embrose Papier (Garsfontein); 1 Alulutho Tshakweni (Hudson Park High School), 2 Jan Hendrik Wessels (Grey Bloem), 3 Morne Smith (Eldoraigne), 4 Ruan Vermaak (Monument), 5 Ruan Nortje (Wonderboom), 6 Marcell Coetzee (Captain) (Port Natal), 7 Elrigh Louw (Transvalia), 8 Nizaam Carr (Bishops).
Replacements
16 Marco van Staden (Bekker Landbou), 17 Sti Sithole (Westville), 18 Wilco Louw (HTS Drostdy), 19 Cobus Wiese (Upington), 20 Jeandre Rudolph (Oakdale), 21 Paul de Wet (Paarl Boys High), 22 Willie le Roux (Paul Roos), 23 Stravino Jacobs (Paarl Gym).