Cape Town - Any team that boasts veteran Springboks such as Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar in their team won’t be easy-beats, and that is exactly the big challenge facing the Bulls when they take on the Cheetahs today (5.45pm kick-off).
Both teams are unbeaten in the Currie Cup, but this Loftus Versfeld clash is likely to be the toughest so far for the defending champions after comfortable wins over the Pumas and Western Province.
The Cheetahs don’t have to manage their players for the United Rugby Championship as well, so they are at full force for the Currie Cup, while the Bulls mix and match every week between the two competitions.
Bulls coach Gert Smal did so once more when naming his team yesterday, reintroducing Stedman Gans at outside centre and Stravino Jacobs at left wing, while there is a 19-year-old rookie No 7 in Cameron Hanekom.
Many of the Bulls starters are bench players in the URC, such as flyhalf Chris Smith, lock Janko Swanepoel and tighthead Robert Hunt, who will all be keen to impress director of rugby Jake White ahead of Saturday’s URC clash against the Lions in Pretoria.
And their performances should carry greater gravitas, considering they’re up against Steyn, Pienaar, Clayton Blommetjies and Rosko Specman.
Smal said that Gans, who hasn’t had much game time in recent months, is “quite an exciting player … I think he now needs an opportunity to see what he can do”.
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On the Cheetahs, the former Bok assistant coach added: “It starts upfront, and we know what the Cheetahs are all about. They’ve got very talented players, and some experienced players there as well, with Ruan and Frans – and a massive kicking game as well with Blommetjies, Frans and Ruan.
“So, you have to prepare for that, and it’s a nice challenge for us to see if we can close them down. They like to play out wide, and we must try to shut them down.
“It’s quite stimulating to get the two teams to a top level on a Wednesday and Saturday. It’s about giving opportunities to players who didn’t get enough game time in the URC. It’s a bit of a challenge, as we only have one proper session on a Monday, and a captain’s on Tuesday.
“But that’s the nature of the competition. We have to be ready for quite an important game against the Cheetahs, as they don’t lose any players and play very good rugby. We must see if we can take our game to them. We don’t just want to sit and see what they do, but we want to bring our game and see if they can hold it as well.
“We’ve got a few senior players as well, up to 11 players who featured in the semi-final or final of the Currie Cup, so it’s quite a good match, and I hope it will be an exciting one for the fans out there.”
Hanekom hails from Paarl Boys’ High in the Western Cape, and will be keen to make an impression on his Currie Cup debut.
“It’s his first opportunity, and one would like to see how he handles the pressure. He is a very talented player, good skills, good pace,” Smal said of Hanekom.
“You will never know if you don’t give him an opportunity. One would like to see that he is also calm under these conditions, and he has a lot of experience around him.”
BULLS
Starting XV: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks (capt), 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Marco Jansen van Vuren; 8 Muller Uys, 7 Cameron Hanekom, 6 WJ Steenkamp, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Schalk Erasmus, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 Jaco Labuschagne, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 FC du Plessis, 23 Richard Kriel
@AshfakMohamed