The Vodacom Bulls will be travelling to Cape Town for Saturday’s derby against the DHL Stormers without the talismanic Marcel Coetzee anywhere in the match day mix but unlike their opponents they are close to full strength for Saturday night’s DHL Stadium clash.
The Bulls went to Lyon last week for their second Investec Challenge Cup game with what was essentially a second string team and very nearly returned with what for them would have been a massive confidence building win. However, with a few exceptions such as the in-form openside flank Marco van Staden and lock Janko Swanepoel, Bulls coach Jake White has largely returned to the team that beat Saracens at Loftus in the first game in the European competition.
That means the Springbok trio of Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie make a potent all international back three capable of beating the Stormers at what is considered their game and will fancy their chances against a side that lost several players to injury this week, among them regular fullback Warrick Gelant, wing Ben Loader, scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies and star No 8 Evan Roos.
In the continued absence of Coetzee, who led from the front in Lyon a week ago, plus the other regular co-captain Ruan Nortje, who has been out for some time, No 8 turned blindside flanker Elrigh Louw will lead the team as the Bulls go in quest of a win that would break a six match sequence losing drought that started two years ago.
Unlike his Stormers counterpart John Dobson, White has opted for a more traditional five/three split between forwards and backs on the bench, which may be both an indication of his confidence in his own pack’s ability to motor through the 80 minutes as well as where he thinks this game might be won and lost.
Bulls players who were not part of the team that was comprehensively outplayed the last time the Bulls came to Cape Town for the 2022/23 quarterfinal include newcomers Le Roux, Akker van der Merwe and former Stormers/Western Province stalwart Wilco Louw, with the latter having played a key role in winning Dobson’s first major senior trophy as head coach, the 2017 Currie Cup.
Canan Moodie did not play in the game in May because of injury, while Nortje, who captained the Bulls that day, is of course also injured.
VODACOM BULLS TEAM: Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans, David Kriel, Canan Moodie, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw (captain), Marco van Staden, Reinhardt Ludwig, Janko Swanepoel, Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: Simphiwe Matanzima, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Mornay Smith, Deon Slabbert, Mpilo Gumede, Keegan Johannes, Chris Smith, Sebastian de Klerk.