Photo Credit: Speedshots.co.za
The New Nations Construction Pumas host the Vodacom Bulls this evening at @19h00 in Nelspruit. The match could be seen as a grudge match as the Pumas won their previous encounter convincing with 44-14 against a less experienced Vodacom Bulls outfit earlier this year at the Mbombela Stadium.
The Pumas lost an entertaining match 32-28 to the Lions two weekends ago during the opening weekend of the warm-up series while the Bulls ran rampant against the Eastern Province to win 87-10.
Both coaches are using the match to evaluate their players that did not get much game-time during the Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup competitions in late 2020.
The Pumas have made wholesale changes to their starting line-up for Tuesday’s match against the Vodacom Bulls in Nelspruit.
In the backline, Morne Joubert and Tapiwa Mafura are the starting wings as Luther Obi and Ettiene Taljaard both sit out this encounter.
There is also a new midfield combination comprising Sebastian de Klerk and Ali Mgjima, in place of Alwayno Visagie and Wayne van der Bank.
Meanwhile, Neil Marais replaces Eddie Fouché at flyhalf and Chriswil September takes over the No 9 jersey from Giovan Snyman to form a fresh halfback combination.
The starting loose trio to face the men from Pretoria are Francois Kleinhans, Kwanda Dimaza and Phumzile Maqondwana, replacing Willie Engelbrecht, Eward Potgieter and Daniel Maartens.
There is also a tweak in the front row, with AJ le Roux coming in for Simon Westraadt at hooker. Big lock Le Roux Roets, who was on the bench last week, has joined the Cell C Sharks on a permanent deal.
Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby, Jake White, has opted for continuity in the selection of the starting line-up.
Springbok loose forward Nizaam Carr continues in his role as captain, which he performed superbly against Eastern Province.
The Vodacom Bulls will start with the same 15 players, who will be kept to add to their impressive form of last weekend when they crushed the Elephants by 87-10 in Pretoria.
White has opted to shuffle the bench, with Nolan Pienaar, Bernard van der Linde, Clinton Swart, Henco Beukes, Willie Potgieter and Richard Kriel all set to add a powerful blow to the opposition later in the match.
"The boys did well last week and the coaching management were impressed in how they kept to the plan, even when the game opened up," said White.
"It could have become a free-for-all once we got legroom on the scoreboard but we want to simulate in-competition scenarios to help us better prepare for upcoming competitions and I must commend Nizaam and his leadership group for keeping the players focused on the objectives and outcomes we wanted to achieve.
"This week will be no different and although the starting team hasn't changed much, there's a ton of new faces on the bench that want their boots on the field and to put their names forward.
"The last time we travelled to Nelspruit with a rather young and inexperienced team, we lost badly to a powerful and well-oiled Pumas bunch. I’m looking forward to seeing how this group has developed since then. We're excited to get to Nelspruit and play our brand of rugby."
New Nation Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Morne Joubert, 13 Sebastian de Klerk, 12 Ali Mgjima, 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Neil Marais, 9 Chriswil September, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuuren (captain), 4 Brandon Valentyn, 3 Ig Prinsloo, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Morgan Naudé. Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Ruan Kramer, 19 Michael Benadie, 20 Dian Badenhorst, 21 Eddie Fouché, 22 Erich Cronje, 23 Darrien Landsberg.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Tim Agaba, 6 Nizaam Carr (captain), 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Joe van Zyl, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements (from): 16 Janco Uys, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Nolan Pienaar, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Werner Gouws, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Richard Kriel, 24 Henco Beukes, 25 Willie Potgieter, 26 Dawid Kellerman.