The industrious Nizaam Carr will lead an exciting Vodacom Bulls side that will take on the South Africa ‘A’ team in Cape Town on Saturday.
An invitation from SA Rugby for the Pretoria-based side to step in as opposition for the SA ‘A’ team is one that could not be passed by Vodacom Bulls director of rugby, Jake White, and his charges in the build-up to the Castle Lager Lions Series between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions.
Carr, who will be starting in the No.6 jersey, will captain the side that will see a number of changes to the team that took on New Nation Pumas in their previous outing in a Carling Currie Cup battle.
An exciting and long-awaited addition to the team is the debut of experienced former Springbok pivot, Johan Goosen, who will marshal the troops as the starting flyhalf on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls will retain continuity and experience in the form of another ex-Springbok, Cornal Hendricks, who will once again form a midfield partnership with Harold Vorster.
Simphiwe Matanzima, Schalk Erasmus and Jacques van Rooyen will be expected to provide some stability as the starting front row, while the lock pairing of Walt Steenkamp and Ruan Nortje continue their auspicious combination in the second row.
Excitement can be expected from the inclusion of youthful talents such as FC du Plessis, WJ Steenkamp and Muller Uys.
White, who is excited ahead of the clash, said: “The opportunity to be called in as opposition for the South Africa ‘A’ side is one we could not refuse. We will be going out to give it our best shot, with the intention of not only providing good opposition for them but also building and growing together as the Vodacom Bulls side.”
The game will kick off at 13h00 on Saturday afternoon, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Vodacom Bulls: 15. FC du Plessis, 14. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 13. Harold Vorster, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 11. Stravino Jacobs, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Zak Burger, 8. WJ Steenkamp, 7. Muller Uys, 6. Nizaam Carr (Capt), 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Walt Steenkamp, 3. Jacques van Rooyen, 2. Schalk Erasmus, 1. Simphiwe Matanzima. Replacements: 16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Arno Botha, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Chris Smith, 23. David Kriel.