Cape Town – Jake White says that his Blue Bulls stars “want to play rugby”, which is why he picked his strongest possible team on Friday for Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against Griquas in Kimberley (3pm kickoff).
The Bulls director of rugby said following the URC quarter-final loss to the Stormers last weekend that he might withdraw his top players in order to give them a break and start the pre-season earlier than usual.
But while he said on Friday that some players are already working on their physique and fitness, the unavailability of Springbok stars Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, as well as flank Marco van Staden – who will attend a national team camp in Durban next week – also influenced his selection, while Johan Goosen is out with a hamstring injury.
White re-jigged his backline as a result, with David Kriel moving to fullback, while Sibongile Novuka and Marco Jansen van Vuren will line up at right and left wing respectively.
Nizaam Carr gets a welcome opportunity in a new-look loose trio alongside Elrigh Louw and Marcell Coetzee, who was selected for last week’s Currie Cup game against the Sharks, but had to withdraw due to family reasons.
“The only way we are going to survive and try to make the playoffs is to play our best rugby and we’ve got to pick our strongest team. So, at this point in time, we don’t have the luxury of having other teams help our destiny. We’ve got to win these five games. We have fallen behind on the log and need to get a win there,” White said on Friday.
“I have started pre-season. Jacques du Plessis is in the gym, Robert Hunt is in the gym, Joe van Zyl, Cameron Hanekom, Stravino Jacobs…
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“It has started for some players. There are five games left in the Currie Cup, and other guys could still be sent to start their pre-season as well.
“It’s just this week, we don’t have Canan and Kurt-Lee as they are going to be with the Boks next week, and Marco van Staden as well. So, I would like to see that loose-forward combination and see one or two other things…
“I didn’t want to make too many changes. I must also emphasise that I asked the players, ‘Do you want to play, or what do you want to do?’, because they’ve had a long season, and they want to play rugby.
“That’s also a massive bonus for me: that they actually want to be on the field as well.”
The Bulls are seventh on 17 points with five league games to go in the race for a semi-final spot, while Griquas are fourth on 23.
Blue Bulls Team
15 David Kriel 14 Sibongile Novuka 13 Stedman Gans 12 Harold Vorster 11 Marco Jansen van Vuren 10 Chris Smith 9 Embrose Papier 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Nizaam Carr 6 Marcell Coetzee 5 Ruan Nortjé (captain) 4 Ruan Vermaak 3 Mornay Smith 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 17 Simphiwe Matanzima 18 Francois Klopper 19 Charlie Ewels 20 WJ Steenkamp 21 Keagan Johannes 22 Chris Barend Smit 23 Cornal Hendricks.
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