Loftus Versfeld hosts the last match of the Currie Cup round 11 on Saturday evening when the Vodacom Bulls welcome their Gauteng neighbours, the Sigma Lions @ 17h00.
Current form suggests a comfortable win for the hosts, however, the Joburg side did run the Windhoek Draught Griquas and Toyota Cheetahs very close in their previous two outings.
Dating back to the beginning of last year, the Vodacom Bulls, 48-38 winners over Windhoek Draught Griquas last week, have managed to stack up five straight wins over their Gauteng rivals, including a comprehensive 40-10 away triumph in March and last January’s 26-21 semi-final win at Loftus.
The Lions have pulled a "Jake White" on the Vodacom Bulls and suddenly are the favourites for this fixture.
Bismarck du Plessis will make a return to play with a starting berth for the Vodacom Bulls.
The veteran hooker will form part of an exciting front row after completing a three-week suspension.
The 37-year-old will be lining up alongside Lizo Gqoboka, who will also captain the team, at loosehead prop and Dylan Smith, who gets his first start in the blue jersey, at tighthead prop.
Juan Mostert will earn his first start for the Vodacom Bulls, earning a spot at flyhalf in the exciting backline which will also see Kabelo Mokoena, who was part of the successful UP Tuks team that recently claimed the Varsity Cup title.
The Vodacom Bulls expect a tough challenge from a Sigma Lions side that will be motivated against one of their oldest rivals at Loftus Versfeld.
“We are looking forward to a hard game against the Sigma Lions this week. We have also an exciting team, led by Lizo, that we have assembled for this match. We have a good mix of experience with Bismarck also back in the mix and the likes of Stedman Gans and Marco Jansen van Vuren in the backline,” said Vodacom Bulls head coach, Gert Smal.
“There is a lot of history and a rivalry that spans for decades between these two teams. Every time the Vodacom Bulls meet the Sigma Lions it is expected to be a game full of spark. They (Sigma Lions) will undoubtedly throw everything at us and will bring the competitiveness we have known between these two sides over the past 84 years.”
The Sigma Lions have called on their big guns to defend their pride against the Vodacom Bulls.
Several URC players were selected with the coaching staff of the Emirates Lions also taking charge of the team on Saturday.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15. James Verity-Am, 14. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 12. Marco Janse van Vuren, 11. Kabelo Mokoena, 10. Juan Mostert, 9. Keagan Johannes, 8. Muller Uys, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 6. Jaco Labuschagne, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 4. Raynard Roets, 3. Dylan Smith, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Lizo Gqoboka (c). Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Cebo Dlamini, 18 Francois Kloppers, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Stephan Smith, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Diego Appollis, 23 Richard Kriel.
Sigma Lions: 15. Quan Horn, 14. Stean Pienaar, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 12. Burger Odendaal (c), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Jordan Hendrikse, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Francke Horn, 7. Ruan Venter, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel, 4. Ruben Schoeman, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Sithembiso Sithole. Replacements: 16. Pieter Botha, 17. Heiko Pohlmann, 18. Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19. Cal Smid, 20. Jarod Cairns, 21. Andre Warner, 22. Henko van Wyk, 23. Tiaan Swanepoel.