WP favourites, but Bulls want to ‘stay in the fight’

YOU could argue that the Bulls’ unbeaten record at Loftus Versfeld since Jake White became the director of rugby and head coach is not at stake in today’s Currie Cup clash against Western Province (4pm kick-off).

The Bulls have won 14 matches in a row at Loftus on White’s watch, but the Pretoria side have 44 players unavailable due to the Rainbow Cup final tonight in Italy, national team call-ups and injuries.

That will result in up to 22 Currie Cup debutants for today’s encounter, with only prop Simphiwe Matanzima and left wing Kefentso Mahlo having been capped previously, while Tuks Varsity Cup-winning captain Sango Xamlashe will lead the Bulls.

But that doesn’t mean stand-in coach Pine Pienaar’s team are going to raise the white flag against Province.

“It’s definitely not something we are thinking about. What’s most important is the privilege the guys have to be part of the first (Currie Cup) match – a north versus south derby. I don’t know what the guys in the Cape meant, but for us, these players never thought in their lives that they would get an opportunity now to play for the Bulls,” Pienaar said.

“They dreamt of this opportunity to play for the Bulls. There will be a lot of mistakes on our side, definitely, but one thing that we said is that we want a massive effort on the night. As far as we possibly can, we want to stay in the fight.

“There is a lot of exciting guys who are part of this group, and they will definitely go out and give it their all. We are not going to look at the scoreboard. For us, it’s about how the process can go, and what we are trying to achieve during the game. Hopefully they can go out and express themselves.

“There is definitely no pressure on this team, so we will try one or two new things.

I’m looking forward to seeing if it will come off on Saturday.”

Province have a strong backline, with only Damian Willemse, Herschel Jantjies (both Springboks) and Ruhan Nel (Blitzboks) missing. They have been hit harder in the pack, with all of Steven Kitshoff, Scarra Ntubeni, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie and Pieter-Steph du Toit at the Boks, while Salmaan Moerat is injured.

They will also have a new captain in Ernst van Rhyn at lock.

So, the Capetonians are definite favourites. “It is always a challenge playing up at Loftus, and we know that we will have to be at our best to start with a win,” WP coach John Dobson said yesterday.

“We have got some really exciting players and combinations in the team, and we are looking forward to seeing what they can produce on Saturday.”

Teams For Loftus Versfeld Bulls:

15 Richard Kriel 14 Sebastiaan Jobb 13 Sango Xamlashe (captain) 12

Louritz van der Schyff 11 Kefentse Mahlo 10 Jandre Burger 9 Johan Mulder 8 Jaco Bezuidenhout 7 Jaco Labuschagne 6 Henco Beukes 5 Tiaan de Klerk 4 JJ Scheepers 3 Francois Klopper 2 Werner Fourie 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.

Bench (from): 16 Llewelyn Classen 17 Dewald Donald 18 Mhleli Dlamini 19 Adolph Visser 20 Eduan Lubbe 21 Tiaan Fourie 22 Kabelo Mokoena 23 Niel Beukes 24 Uzile Tele.

Western Province: 15 Sergeal Petersen 14 Sihle Njezula 13 Rikus Pretorius 12 Dan du Plessis 11 Seabelo Senatla 10 Abner van Reenen 9 Paul de Wet 8 Evan Roos 7 Johan du Toit 6 Niel Otto 5 David Meihuizen 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain) 3 Neethling Fouché 2 JJ Kotze 1 Ali Vermaak.

Bench (from): 16 Sazi Sandi 17 Leon Lyons 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko 19 Justin Basson 20 Hacjivah Dayimani 21 Godlen Masimla 22 Tim Swiel 23 Cornel Smit 24 Jason Alexander 25 De Wet Marais 26 Chris Schreuder.