In the last match of the round on Sunday evening at 19:00, the Vodacom Bulls face a tough exam at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast against Ulster, who will be determined to improve after being run close by Zebre Parma in Italy last weekend.
Had the Italians’ goal-kicking been better, the result may have gone against Ulster, who also had two players sin-binned, something they know they can’t afford against a Vodacom Bulls side that started the season with the biggest win of round one against Scarlets in Pretoria last weekend.
Scoring nine converted tries on a hot day in Pretoria is one thing, but cold and rainy weather is predicted for Belfast on Sunday, and the conditions will probably suit Ulster better.
Honours are even between Ulster and the Vodacom Bulls in their two clashes to date, but the men from Pretoria will remember round 16 last season when they were denied a bonus point in Belfast with Tom Stewart scoring a hat-trick of tries for the Irish hosts.
What’s more, the Vodacom Bulls have played Irish provinces in Ireland five times, only winning once – the 2021/22 semi-final against Leinster in Dublin.
The Vodacom Bulls have made two changes to the matchday 23. Utility back Cornal Hendricks, speedster Stravino Jacobs and flyhalf Chris Smith come into the matchday 23 for Harold Vorster and Jaco van der Walt. Hendricks slots into the starting xv at inside centre whilst Chris Smith will get a run from the impact squad.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, White said: “It is early days but it is nice to have guys like (Cameron) Hanekom make their debut and really put in the kind of performances that he did, winning the man of the match. It is quite nice as a coach to know that there are still a couple of combinations that we can try. I thought Nizaam (Carr) was wonderful and he went into the open side and did very well,"
“It is a 4G pitch, it will most likely rain and that presents a lot of challenges for us but we must learn from last year. Their set pieces are strong and they have great players in certain positions and we must make sure we match them in those positions."
On the opposition, he said: “It is going to be a tough game, playing Ulster early up. They have a lot of passion and they are playing in their new field and I am sure they will want to impress on their first home game and they will be inspired because we had the same feel last week on our new turf,”
“From the start we had last week, we have to play well and build on.”
Ulster head coach, Dan McFarland, has named his side for Ulster’s first home fixture. Ulster kicked off their season with a bonus-point 36-40 victory in Italy, beating Zebre Parma at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
Stalwart lock, Alan O’Connor, returns to the side to captain the Ulster men on their first run out in front of home supporters on the new 3G pitch at Kingspan Stadium.
In the front row, the province’s long-serving Ballymena prop, Andy Warwick, starts at loosehead, where he is joined by Ireland internationals Tom Stewart at hooker, and Tom O’Toole at tighthead, who returns from duty with the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad.
O’Connor is joined in the second row by Ireland international, Kieran Treadwell, who hopes to pick up where he left off after being awarded the BKT URC Player of the March award last weekend against Zebre Parma.
In a formidable back-row, Dave Ewers makes his home debut after joining the province from Exeter Chiefs earlier this summer. Dave McCann starts as the openside flanker and Nick Timoney gets the nod at number eight, making his 99th appearance for the province.
The half-back partnership is a familiar one, as scrum-half Nathan Doak is joined by the experienced Billy Burns at ten, who returns to the starting line-up, after coming on as a replacement last weekend in Italy.
In a youthful centre partnership formed in the Ulster Rugby Academy, Jude Postlethwaite makes his first start at Kingspan Stadium, alongside James Hume in the engine room of Ulster’s backfield.
Fresh from scoring two tries in the opening weekend win, Jacob Stockdale, will hope to continue his fine start to the season as he retains his position on Ulster’s left wing.
On the other side, Rob Baloucoune, returns to the starting line-up after missing last weekend’s away win. The Enniskillen speed merchant will be hoping to continue his history with the Vodacom Bulls, after scoring a trademark finish in the 32-23 win back in March in front of a home crowd.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 1 Gerhard Steenekamp, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 5 Ruan Nortje (cc), 6 Marcell Coetzee (cc), 7 Elrigh Louw, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 9 Embrose Papier, 10 Johan Goosen, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 13 David Kriel, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 15 Devon Williams. Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans.
Ulster: 1 Andy Warwick, 2 Tom Stewart, 3 Tom O’Toole, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 5 Kieran Treadwell, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Dave McCann, 8 Nick Timoney, 9 Nathan Doak, 10 Billy Burns, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 13 James Hume, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 15 Will Addison. Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Greg McGrath, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Mike Lowry.