The Vodacom Bulls under-19 side will be hunting for a victory that will cement their home semi-final quest as they get ready to welcome the Cell C Sharks – on Friday 26 May – in round 5 of the SA Rugby under-19 Cup. The two sides will meet at Loftus Versfeld with kick-off set for 14h00pm.
Edgar Marutlulle’s herd currently sits second on the log (with 17 points) and their guests lie in third place (trailing them by a point) with only a victory guaranteeing them final four berth, home soil. A win could also set the side up for a home final, dependent on other results in the final round of the junior cup competition.
Heading into the fixture, Marutlulle has retained the services of the same matchday 23, making personnel adjustments to just two positions as he looks to continue with the momentum of their bonus point victory in Potchefstroom. In the starting 15, the only change is that of Andile Myeni (centre) switching with Kobus Janse van Rensburg in a like-for-like role with the former moving to the impact squad.
On the bench, Abel Pretorius (23) and Duncan Blignaut (20) swap jersey’s in an otherwise unchanged impact squad formation.
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 VS CELL C SHARKS: 1. Mbasa Maqubela, 2. Juan Smal, 3. Casper Badenhorst, 4. Ben Heydenrych, 5. Keanu Coetsee, 6. Lukas Meyer (c), 7. Lilitha Matsiliza, 8. Liselihle Maphekula, 9. Steven Nel, 10. Jayden Bantom, 11. Michail Damon, 12. Philip-Albert van Niekerk (vc), 13. Kobus Janse van Rensburg, 14. Alfondso Isaacs, 15. JL Van Rensburg
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 IMPACT SQUAD: Juanre Breitenbach, 17. Jean Fourie, 18. Kaleb Kriek, 19. Nokutenda Mapungwana, 20. Duncan Blignaut, 21. One Fani, 22. Andile Myeni, 23. Abel Pretorius
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 MANAGEMENT: Edgar Marutlulle – Head Coach; Wessel Du Plessis – General Attack, Exits and Kicking Coach, Ofentse Moeng – Launches & Backline Coach; Limbi Seyani – Sport Scientist & Strength and Conditioning; Dr. Gerhard Louwrens – Team Doctor; Darryn Berry – Physiotherapist; Prieur Le Grange – Technical Analyst & Team Manager; Tshepo Mashigo – Logistics Manager
