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A young and hungry Vodacom Bulls Carling Currie Cup group gear up for the opening round of South Africa’s premier competition at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday against DHL Western Province @ 16h00.
Both teams were severely affected by their players' national commitments, however, the Vodacom Bulls will also be without 28 players who will be playing in the Rainbow Cup Final against Benetton in Italy.
Incredibly 44 Vodacom Bulls players cannot be considered for Saturday’s clash against Western Province: 28 have travelled to Italy, 4 are with the Springboks, 4 are out due to injuries, 2 are on duty with the Blitzboks and 6 have been called up to the Junior Boks.
Stand-in coach Pine Pienaar will take the reins in the absence of Director of Rugby and head coach Jake White and will be assisted by Hayden Groepes and Edgar Marutlulle. These three gentlemen are no strangers to this talented young group as they have been working tirelessly within the junior structures over the last few years.
Saturday’s game will be recorded as the largest number of debutants in a single professional game for the men in blue, with only two of the matchday 23 having seen Currie Cup action before, that being Simphiwe Matanzima and Kefentse Mahlo.
The squad will be headlined by the return of Loftus prodigy, Simphiwe ‘BEAST’ Matanzima. The big prop made a massive impact since his introduction to senior rugby, with his name even being thrown around the green and gold by media and fans alike. Returning from a long-term injury setback, Matanzima will be looking to pick up where he left off.
He will be accompanied by Francois Klopper in the front row, with Werner Fourie between them. They will be backed in the scrum by JJ Scheepers and Tiaan de Klerk grinding in the engine room, with loosies Henco Beukes, Jaco Labuschagne and Jaco Bezuidenhout rounding out the forwards.
Big weekend for the Kriel family, as live-wire Richard Kriel takes the number 15 jersey to make his Currie Cup debut, while his brother David will more than likely also don 15 in Italy. Further wide, hot-stepping Sebastiaan Jobb and Kefentse Mahlo will be allowed to spread their wings. The midfield will be marshalled by captain Sango Xamlashe at the outside centre and Louritz van der Schyff in the number 12 jersey.
The exciting half-back pairing of flyhalf Jandre Burger younger brother of Zac Burger who’s also bound to represent this weekend in Italy, and Johan Mulder at scrumhalf will be aiming to provide the perfect attack platform for an electric backline.
Fans can also expect the unleashing of another beast when Mhleli Dlamini gets off the bench to make his much anticipated professional debut. There has been a lot of hype in the media, especially on social media, around the prop, better known as ‘Big G’, and he will no doubt be looking to make his first official outing count.
Pienaar reaffirmed his belief in the system and his young group, “Jake, together with the management team have put in a lot of effort in aligning our structures at Loftus at all levels since his appointment. So, we know exactly what is expected of us, and we know what needs to be done. This is a talented group, even in the absence of a ton of senior and contracted players due to Rainbow Cup, Bok duty, National Under 20 call ups and also a few untimely injuries. I am truly excited to see these boys step up and use this opportunity to stake a claim.”
Lock Ernst van Rhyn will captain DHL Western Province in their Carling Currie Cup campaign, which kicks off against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday.
The former SA Schools and Junior Springbok captain will lead DHL Western Province out at Loftus Versfeld for a North-South encounter which kicks off at 16h00 on Saturday.
Hooker JJ Kotze, flank Niel Otto and No.8 Evan Roos will all make their DHL Western Province debut having been named in the starting line-up, while lock Justin Basson and loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani - on loan with a view to making a permanent move to Cape Town - are set to make their first appearance for DHL Western Province from the replacements bench.
Sergeal Petersen is at fullback and will link up with Seabelo Senatla and Sihle Njezula in an exciting back three. Dan du Plessis and Rikus Pretorius are in midfield, with Abner van Reenen and Paul de Wet making up the halfback pairing.
Roos and Otto are joined by Johan du Toit in the loose trio, with David Meihuizen partnering captain Van Rhyn at lock. In the front row, Kotze will have experienced props Ali Vermaak and Neethling Fouche on either side of him.
DHL Western Province Head Coach John Dobson said that his team is focused on making a convincing start to their Carling Currie Cup campaign.
"It is always a challenge playing up at Loftus and we know that we will have to be at our best to start with a win.
"We have got some really exciting players and combinations in the team and we are looking forward to seeing what they can produce on Saturday," he said.
Vodacom Bulls: 15. Richard Kriel, 14. Sebastiaan Jobb, 13. Sango Xamlashe (Captain), 12. Louritz van der Schyff, 11. Kefentse Mahlo, 10. Jandre Burger, 9. Johan Mulder, 8. Jaco Bezuidenhout, 7. Jaco Labuschagne, 6. Henco Beukes, 5. Tiaan de Klerk, 4. JJ Scheepers, 3. Francois Klopper, 2. Werner Fourie, 1. Simphiwe Matanzima. Replacements: 16. Llewelyn Classen, 17. Dewald Donald, 18. Mhleli Dlamini, 19. Adolph Visser, 20. Eduan Lubbe, 21. Tiaan Fourie, 22. Kabelo Mokoena, 23. Niel Beukes, 24. Uzile Tele.
DHL Western Province: 15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Sihle Njezula, 13 Rikus Pretorius, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Abner van Reenen, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Niel Otto, 5 David Meihuizen, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements (from): 16 Sazi Sandi, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Cornel Smit, 24 Jason Alexander, 25 De Wet Marais, 26 Chris Schreuder.