The Vodacom Bulls travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Toyota Cheetahs as the men from the highveld look to snatch a spot in the finals of the 2023 Currie Cup campaign. The Tshwane-based outfit will line up against their central hosts on Saturday 17 June 2023, with kick-off set for 15h00pm in the afternoon.
The two teams met a week earlier in what was a feisty encounter at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and rugby fans will be treated to another tantalising serving this weekend, at the Toyota Stadium.
Director of Rugby, Jake White has made four changes to his matchday 23 with Johan Grobbelaar, WJ Steenkamp, Bernard van der Linde and Sibongile Novuka all being rotated into the fold.
Grobbelaar comes into starting xv, slotting into the front row as one of only two changes to an otherwise unchanged forward pack. The other change to the men in front is Nizaam Carr starting at open-side flank. Last week’s starter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels shifts to the impact squad where Steenkamp, van der Linde and Novuka will all look to get a run from.
At the back, the only changes are that of Keagan Johannes and Chris Smith. Johannes starts at scrum-half with Embrose Papier missing out due to a hamstring niggle, whilst Smith slots into fly-half. The rest of the backline remains unchanged.
TOYOTA CHEETAHS vs VODACOM BULLS STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp (Naka Bulle), 2. Johan Grobbelaar (UP Tuks), 3. Mornay Smith (Centurion), 4. Ruan Vermaak (Naka Bulle), 5. Ruan Nortje (Naka Bulle), 6. Marcell Coetzee (c) (Naka Bulle), 7. Nizaam Carr (Harlequins), 8. Elrigh Louw (UP Tuks), 9. Keagan Johannes (UP Tuks), 10. Chris Smith (Harlequins), 11. David Kriel (Centurion), 12. Harold Vorster (Northam Rhinos), 13. Stedman Gans (Northam Rhinos), 14. Cornal Hendricks (Northam Rhinos), 15. Johan Goosen (Naka Bulle)
VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Simphiwe Matanzima (Naka Bulle), 17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Pretoria), 18. Francois Klopper (Tuine), 19. Janko Swanepoel (Pretoria), 20. WJ Steenkamp (Tuine), 21. Bernard van der Linde (UP Tuks), 22. Sibongile Novuka (Nakka Bulle), 23. Wandisile Simelane (Centurion)
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
