The Vodacom Bulls have named their strongest available lineup for Friday night’s top-of-the-table Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Irish log leaders Leinster.
Springbok Elrigh Louw returns to the pack alongside veteran hooker Akker van der Merwe, while in the backline the halfback duo of Johan Goosen and Embrose Papier return as well.
David Kriel is also back after being rested last week and moves into the 12 jersey while Devon Williams takes over the 14 jersey after Sebastian de Klerk was ruled out with a concussion.
The most unlucky player from the shuffle was Celimpilo Gumede, who starts off the bench this week to accommodate Louw, while Harold Vorster also drops down to the bench after a solid game against the Dragons last weekend.
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) March 28, 2024
The top 2 in the @Vodacom #URC square off 🔥
YOUR Vodacom Bulls to take on Leinster in a Dublin Blockbuster tomorrow night 🐂#BackTheBulls pic.twitter.com/oEfvrAxRqt
And with Leinster having one of the best home defensive records of the competition, White has called on his side to “fire some shots” to make sure they give themselves a chance of repeating their massive upset from the inaugural URC season two years ago when they shocked Leinster in Dublin in the semifinal.
“The most important thing for us is to give ourselves a chance,” White said when talking about the massive task on their hands.
“It would be sad not to fire a shot, and we have a great opportunity to give it ago. We can match them in their areas of strength and we need to be really good at stopping them from doing what they want.
“They are a side that wants to play with a rhythm and when they get to play with that they are very hard to stop. It is about being smart and taking our opportunities and understanding that we have a massive chance to measure ourselves against them.”
Jacques 🆚 Jake
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 28, 2024
Leinster 🆚 Bulls
Two former Springbok World Cup winning coaches square off on Friday night ⚔️
Who's winning this one? pic.twitter.com/KTTC9FCXLv
LIKE A TEST MATCH
White joked that the Irish side “have more test caps than our URC caps” in their team, pointing to the incredible fact that Leinster provided 19 of the 32 players for the Irish squad that completed the Six Nations double a few weeks ago.
And while he dismissed suggestions of the upset two years ago being a factor in the game, the lessons from that win still ring true this weekend.
“The one thing that Leinster do is start very quickly and it is hard to play catch-up rugby against them. Then you have to start risking things from your own half and so it isn’t just about stopping the soft moments against them,” he explained.
“It is also about building some pressure from the start so that you don’t have to play catch-up rugby. That is what we did two years ago. They have so many plays that they can use, and so many lineout plays and mauls, that you have to be on your toes. It’s about being ready for whatever they throw at you.”
NIENABER FACTOR
With former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber the big difference from the last time the two sides met, White isn’t seeing it as any sort of weakness for the home side.
“Leinster don’t lose too many times, they have an incredible home record - something like 90 or 95 per cent success rate at home. Our Springbok players will have given feedback of what the mindset is like, what negotiables are there in his defence plan and the risks that come with it.
“But Leinster didn’t lose too many times before he got there, and if anything Jacques sharpens them up. He’s always been incredibly good and he can only make them better,” White added.
“I don’t see for one minute that him coming in would be any sort of weakness and all it could bring is that they have new ideas that they didn’t have before.”
The match will kick off at 21h35 on Friday.
Team: Willie le Roux; Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Devon Williams; Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier; Marcell Coetzee (co-capt), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (co-capt), Ruan Vermaak, Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Rynhard Ludwig, Celimpilo Gumede, Zak Burger, Chris Smith, Harold Vorster.