Preview – The Vodacom Bulls Should Win Against Benetton, However ….

 

The Vodacom Bulls will kick off the weekend’s action on Friday evening at 18h30 when they go up against Benetton in Treviso.

The Vodacom Bulls will be desperate to bounce back from two away defeats as they enter their final tour game against the seventh-placed Benetton in Italy, but given the close margins between the teams in the competition so far it is expected to be a humdinger.

Both teams have won three of their five matches to date, with the sides currently tied on 14 log points, but the Pretoria side’s favourable points difference bolstered by a slightly better attack and defence nudged them one place higher on the standings.

Jake White’s men were left disappointed in the last two weeks, going down against the Glasgow Warriors and Munster after surging to a strong start in the competition with three victories in a row in South Africa, and they will be determined to change their fortunes this week.

Prediction: Vodacom Bulls by three.

Benetton made wholesale changes to the team that lost 08-53 against Edinburgh. It is well known that Benetton targets their home games and rested several players against Edinburgh. The Vodacom Bulls will face a team with eleven changes made.

Benetton Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “(Vodacom) Bulls base their game on the domination of static phases and for which it will be important to be solid. They play a very direct game of winning the advantage line so we will have to win collisions to block their play. Discipline will be very important in order not to give them chance to play in our 22m.”

Vodacom Bulls head coach Jake White made eight changes to their starting line-up for their final match on tour against Benetton on Friday evening in Treviso at 18h30 (SA Time).

At the back, David Kriel replaces Cornal Hendricks on the wing while Stedman Gans replaces Lionel Mapoe at the outside centre.  Chris Smith is promoted from the beach to replace Johan Goosen at flyhalf.

Up front, Marco van Staden replaces WJ Steenkamp who drops to the bench while Janko Swanepoel replaces Walt Steenkamp. A new frontrow was selected with Francois Klopper, Bismarck du Plessis and Gerhard Steenekamp starting against Benetton.

Jake White said that “They take home games very seriously.

“I think the last time they lost a home game was in April and that was to Connacht, very close, 21-17.

“It’s not an ambush anymore, it’s a reality that it’s a very good team. The olden days of thinking Italian sides are weaker are long gone.”

“The last time they lost a home game I think was in April this year and that was to Connacht (17-21).

“They rested a lot of their main players last week and I think that result against Edinburgh is a little bit skewed.

“It’s going to be a tough game and we just got to make sure that we play better and get things right.”

Teams:

Benetton: 15. Giacomo Da Re, 14. Ignacio Mendy, 13. Ignacio Brex, 12. Marco Zanon, 11. Mattia Bellini, 10. Tomas Albornoz, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage (c), 8. Lorenzo Cannone, 7. Michele Lamaro, 6. Manuel Zuliani, 5. Federico Ruzza, 4. Scott Scrafton, 3. Simone Ferrari, 2. Giacomo Nicotera, 1. Ivan Nemer. Replacements: 16. Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17. Thomas Gallo, 18. Tiziano Pasquali, 19. Niccolò Cannone, 20. Toa Halafihi, 21. Manfredi Albanese, 22. Tommaso Menoncello, 23. Marcus Watson.

Vodacom Bulls: 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Wandisile Simelane, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Embrose Papier, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Marco van Staden, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Janko Swanepoel, 3. Francois Klopper, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Walt Steenkamp, 20. WJ Steenkamp, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Morne Steyn, 23. Stravino Jacobs.