The Vodacom Bulls kept mostly to their tried and tested approach for their return Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby with the Emirates Lions, making just one change in their halfbacks for the game.
Zak Burger will return to the starting line-up, swopping with Embrose Papier as the team look to do the double over their neighbours after an away bonus point win in Johannesburg last weekend.
Coach Jake White was clear that Burger needs game time, and what better way than to give him a start against the Lions.
“He needs some game time. He has been on the bench for a while now and like any halfback he needs to get some game time as well. So give him a start, give him a chance to see how he blends in with this group as a starter,” White said.
White said the different styles between Burger and Embrose Papier suited the Bulls and hopefully Papier’s sniping runs could be put to good effect in the second half.
“They are a bit different, Zak probably gets to the breakdown a bit quicker and gets the ball away a bit quicker. Emi is bit better with the ball in hand and likes to snipe. Again it will be quite interesting to see what he does off the bench when players are fatigued and maybe he finds a few holes at the end of the game. They are different but both their strengths are important for us as a group anyway,” he added.
As for the Lions, who have been parroting war talk and talking about facing up to their own demons and giving a better response this weekend, White believes they will come with something different this week.
“They will come with different. Their coaching staff and captain have given them the gears. They’ve made some changes, and I guess there is a massive message in the squad if those are the changes they’ve made. There is a clear message that if you don’t pull your finger and don’t play well you won’t get picked.
“I also think that having played on Wednesday there are a couple of guys who played on Wednesday who aren’t available this week. It was always our plan anyway to play two teams this week.
“Circumstances have probably led to keep the group together. The Lions didn’t have a Currie Cup game on Wednesday and could have brought a few guys in because they didn’t have time on their legs.”
Cornal Hendricks, who was on Carling Currie Cup duty earlier in the week, has also been added to the replacements as backline cover, and he will be the only new face to the bench that was at Emirates Airline Park last weekend.
“The result from last weekend when we beat the Emirates Lions at Emirates Airline Park will mean nothing. It’s now a new week and they will come to Loftus Versfeld a hungry side and will want to make amends for the defeat last Saturday,” White added.
“We expect nothing less than another challenging encounter against the side from Johannesburg. They showed how strong they can be in the set pieces last week, while also coming at us with some clever, running rugby. We can definitely expect more of the same this weekend.”
The match between the Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions will kick-off at 15h00, and it will be televised on SuperSport.
Vodacom Bulls:Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Madosh Tambwe, Morne Steyn, Zak Burger; Elrigh Louw, Arno Botha, Marcell Coetzee (captain), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Jacques van Rooyen, Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements:Bismarck du Plessis, Lizo Gqoboka, Robert Hunt, Janko Swanepoel, Muller Uys, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Cornal Hendricks.