The Vodacom Bulls (third on the log) are aiming for their fourth win on the bounce (since their round-five defeat to Munster in Limerick) when they host 11th-placed Cardiff on Saturday night, 20h00 (SA Time) at Fortress Loftus.
The men from Pretoria have lost just two of their 17 previous home games in Pretoria, to the DHL Stormers in January and the Cell C Sharks the following month, and they are unbeaten in five meetings with Welsh opposition, while Cardiff’s only defeat in their last five encounters was 17-25 at home to Edinburgh in the seventh round.
The team from the Welsh capital tasted success in their last two away games and are going for their fourth victory on SA soil having beaten the Southern Kings twice in Nelson Mandela Bay, in 2018 and 2019, and blanking the Cell C Sharks in Durban last Sunday.
The last time the two sides met, the Pretoria side dotted down three tries as they racked up a convincing 29-19 victory but White is not counting on history to repeat itself, as he anticipates hosting a well-prepared and confident Cardiff side at the back of their trip to Durban.
Prediction - Vodacom Bulls by 10
The Vodacom Bulls have been given a boost by the return of its Springbok players, as Marco Van Staden, Johan Goosen, Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks and Kurt-Lee Arendse. Returning will also be, Johan Grobbelaar who makes his much-awaited return to play having recovered from injury.
“It is nice to know that we have backup from the guys who have done national duty, guys who were part of that side that did so well at Twickenham. So, having our returning Boks has been great for us because they have brought about a positive vibe into the training environment and I find that important because it helps elevate our training tempo and helps improve everyone on the park,” commented BBCo Director of Rugby, Jake White.
Marco ‘Eskom’ van Staden returns to blind-side flanker whilst Johan Goosen slots in at fly-half as Canan Moodie pairs up with David Kriel in the left and right-wing combination. Cornal Hendricks returns to a role he has thrived under at centre with homegrown sensation, Kurt-Lee Arendse returning at full-back for the Bulls herd. In other rotations; Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith and Lionel Mapoe join the impact squad as Johan Grobbelaar returns to the starting xv, at hooker.
“We need to play well against Cardiff, a side that will be beaming with confidence having beaten both the Stormers and Sharks, two sides who have finished above them in the season gone, so they will be on a high knowing they have beaten two strong South African sides already” he commented.
Asked on whether the fixture against Cardiff will be the game that gives direction on selection going forward, the Vodacom Bulls mentor commented: “Not really, we will be making changes along the way because we have back-to-back match weeks over the next nine consecutive weeks. If we want to be our best, we have to make changes along the way to stay ontop of our game.”
Speaking on Johan Grobbelaar’s return to play, White said: “I probably could have played Grobbies last week because he was already out on the park after 5-6 weeks putting his hand up for selection and that sums up him as a character, a resilient player. In the end, I thought to rather not take a chance on one game but now he is back and having him and his rugby IQ will be great for the squad,”
Jake White lauded the return of Moodie, highlighting his recent time with the Springboks has added an extra bounce to the youngster’s step, which is overall great for the entire team. “Even though Canan was out for a while, he returns having experienced a full house at Twickenham and experienced a victory over there (in England) which a lot of teams have not experienced. So he returns a young player with a boost and spring in his step and it is nice to have that calibre of players in our group,”
“We are hoping to get a Springbok player in every position, we may not be there yet but hopefully this group will teach each other to be better and get to that point” White concluded.
Jason Harries will make his 50th appearance for Cardiff, the wing joined the Blue and Blacks ahead of the 2018/19 season, and makes his sixth consecutive start in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld.
Harries is part of a new look back three with Aled Summerhill replacing the injured Theo Cabango and Cam Winnett handed the number 15 jersey to make his third start.
Ben Thomas moves to inside centre, replacing Max Llewellyn, who picked up an ankle injury against the Sharks, and is joined by Wales Under-20 international Mason Grady.
Jarrod Evans and Lloyd Williams will once again form the half back partnership, with the latter set to move within one appearance of his 250th for the club.
Kristian Dacey is brought into the front row, alongside Rhys Carré and Dmitri Arhip, to replace Liam Belcher. Seb Davies, who returned to action as a replacement last week comes in for Rory Thornton.
After an impressive outing in Durban, the back row of James Botham, Thomas Young and captain Josh Turnbull remains unchanged.
Young said: “We were really pleased with our performance and result last week against the Sharks but this week presents an even greater challenge.
“The Vodacom Bulls are a formidable side, arguably the most physical of the South African outfits, they had a good win against the Ospreys and are home at Loftus Versfeld.
“We can take some confidence and momentum into the game but we are under no illusions of how big a challenge we face and we have to bring that same level of performance and intensity we saw last week.
“We are disappointed to pick up some short-term injuries as we would have liked to have kept some continuity but it gives others opportunities and that will bode well for the weeks ahead.”
Shane Lewis-Hughes has joined up with the Blue and Blacks squad in South Africa this week, and is immediately drafted onto the bench.
Teddy Williams, Kirby Myhill and Harri Millard are also introduced to the matchday 23, with the latter set for his first competitive appearance of the season.
The visitors’ (Cardiff) openside flanker, Thomas Young, who played an instrumental role at Kings Park, said it would be important to keep their hosts at bay throughout the 80 minutes of play.
“It’s going to be another physical challenge for us. We’re expecting the weather to be dry, it’s at altitude so that’s something different we have to adjust to - that’s the challenge we have to step up to. Keeping them out at the end is something the boys are really proud of doing. All week we’ve spoken about backing it up and being consistent in everything we do."
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14. David Kriel, 13. Cornal Hendricks, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Canan Moodie, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Izak Burger, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Cyle Brink, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje (c), 4. Ruan Vermaak, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Francois Klopper, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Lionel Mapoe.
Cardiff: 15. Cameron Winnett, 14. Jason Harries, 13. Mason Grady, 12. Ben Thomas, 11. Aled Summerhill, 10. Jarrod Evans, 9. Lloyd Williams, 8. James Botham, 7. Thomas Young, 6. Josh Turnbull (c), 5. Seb Davies, 4. Lopeti Timani, 3. Dmitri Arhip, 2. Kristian Dacey, 1. Rhys Carré. Replacements: 16. Kirby Myhill, 17. Corey Domachowski, 18. Will Davies-King, 19. Teddy Williams, 20. Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21. James Ratti, 22. Ellis Bevan, 23. Harri Millard.
