The Vodacom Bulls have retained the services of the same matchday 23 that did duty in round 11 for round 12 of the 2023 Currie Cup campaign. The herd travels to Mpumalanga where they will meet with the Airlink Pumas as the competition begins to round up before the business end.
Kick-off at the Mbombela Stadium is set for 15h00pm.
At the front, Gerhard Steenekamp (loosehead), Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Mornay Smith (tighthead) link-up as the front row, awhilsts Ruan Nortje and Ruan Vermaak combine at lock. Marcell Coetzee (blindside) will line up alongside Nizaam Carr (openside) with Elrigh Louw at eight, to complete the forwards pack.
Johan Goosen links up with Embrose Papier (scrumhalf) at halfback, with Marco Jansen van Vuren (left) and Sibongile Novuka (right) running out on the wings, whilst Harold Vorster and Stedman Gans line up at centre, with David Kriel at fullback.
The impact squad has Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Charlie Ewels, Cyle Brink, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith and Cornal Hendricks ready to provide support.
AIRLINK PUMAS 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. Embrose Papier (UP Tuks), 10. Johan Goosen (Naka Bulle), 11. Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12. Harold Vorster (Northam Rhinos), 13. Stedman Gans (Northam Rhinos), 14. Sibongile Novuka (Naka Bulle), 15. David Kriel (Centurion)
VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Pretoria), 17. Simphiwe Matanzima (Naka Bulle), 18. Francois Klopper (Tuine), 19. Charlie Ewels, 20. WJ Steenakamp (Tuine), 21. Keagan Johannes (UP Tuks), 22. Chris Smith (Harlequins), 23. Cornal Hendricks (Northam Rhinos)
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
