The pressure on the South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship franchises will strike a new level this weekend as the competition hits the fourth-last pool round and the race for playoff spots moves up a few notches.
The Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions will enter the Jukskei Derby under pressure at Loftus Versfeld, as the hosts, currently in sixth position on the log, lead the Cell C Sharks by only one point, and they know that a defeat could see them potentially fighting for a playoff spot.
The Emirates Lions, meanwhile, have everything to play for with the team currently in 12th position and trailing the eighth-placed Connacht by a mere six points. They also come off a morale-boosting win against the fourth-ranked Glasgow Warriors last weekend, which will give them confidence going into the clash.
The men from Johannesburg will also be keen to break a long losing streak on the road – they have not won away from home in the Vodacom URC since they beat Edinburgh in Scotland on 7 October. Furthermore, the Emirates Lions have not beaten a South African opponent since their 37-19 victory over the DHL Stormers in Cape Town in December 2021.
With the Pretoria outfit having won eight of their 14 games so far to only six by the Johannesburgers, and the team boasting a better record on attack and defence than their Gauteng neighbours, they will enter the match as favourites on paper, however, anything could happen with teams fighting for quarter-final spots.
While the Vodacom Bulls will be looking to secure their first victory in four outings against a domestic team in the competition, the Emirates Lions will be looking to earn their first away win in the tournament since last October, meaning neither team will hold back.
Prediction: Emirates Lions by 3
Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White has also mixed up his side for the Gauteng derby.
Dylan Smith and WJ Steenkamp are the only changes to the forwards’ pack that did duty a week ago, whilst Embrose Papier and Morne Steyn combine at halfback. David Kriel moves into the inside centre with Cornal Hendricks on his outside, as Wandisile Simelane starts at fullback. Speedster, Sbu Nkosi (left) is joined by Sibongile Novuka (right) on the wings, adding more firepower to the pace of the lineup.
Bernard van der Linde is the only other addition to the matchday 23 that is set to feature from the impact squad, alongside the likes of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Ruan Vermaak, Cyle Brink, Chris Smith and centre Harold Vorster.
The Emirates Lions will head north to Pretoria without Springbok duo Jaco Kriel (injured) and Ruan Dreyer (suspended for three weeks).
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named Emmanuel Tshituka as the openside flanker, while Ruan Venter moves from lock to the blindside. Ruan Smith will fill the void left by Dreyer on the bench.
Team:
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Dylan Smith. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Harold Vorster.
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith. Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Rynhardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Ruhan Delport, 20 Jarod Cairns, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.
