The Vodacom Bulls have announced their matchday 23 to take on the DHL Western Province in round 8 of the 2023 Currie Cup campaign, to be played at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. The North-South foes will meet for another epic duel on Saturday (29 April 2023), with kick-off set for 18h30pm.
Director of Rugby, Jake White will see his young Currie Cup leader, Reinhardt Ludwig, lead a forward’s pack that has Gerhard Steenekamp (loose-head prop), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (hooker) and Francois Klopper (tight-head prop) in the front, supported by Charlie Ewels and Janko Swanepoel at lock. Ludwig (open-side flanker) will line up alongside Marco van Staden (blind-side flanker) and WJ Steenkamp (eight-man) with Keagan Johannes and Johan Goosen combining at halfback. David Kriel (left) and Wandisile Simelane (right) will be looking to burn their burners at wing with Cornal Hendricks (inside) and Stedman Gans (outside) lacing up their boots as the centre pairing whilst creative playmaker, Kurt-Lee Arendse will provide reinforcement at full-back.
The herd will have an impact squad ready to provide support in the form of Simphiwe Matanzima, Johan Grobbelaar, Mornay Smith, Ruan Vermaak, Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith and Harold Vorster.
The two teams meet currently separated by a single point on the log, with the Vodacom Bulls in fifth place on 17 points after 7 games.
VODACOM BULLS vs DHL WESTERN PROVINCE STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 3. Francois Klopper, 4. Charlie Ewels, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig (c), 8. WJ Steenkamp, 9. Keagan Johannes, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. David Kriel, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Wandisile Simelane, 15. Kurt-Lee Arendse
VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Simphiwe Matanzima, 17. Johan Grobbelaar, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Ruan Vermaak, 20. Cyle Brink, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Harold Vorster
MANAGEMENT: Jake White – Director of Rugby, Sean Everitt – Defence & Breakdown, Hugo van As – Backline, Gert Smal – Forwards, Andre Volsteedt – Strength & Conditioning, John-William Meyer – Technical Analyst, Yusuf Vahed – Sports Scientist, Dr. Herman Rossouw – Team Doctor, Lance Lemmetjies – Senior Physiotherapist, Kyle Meyer – Physiotherapist, Elias Bennett – Team Manager, Zama Dyidi – Logistics Manager
