Bismarck du Plessis Bulls Currie Cup

The Bulls have made wholesale changes to the matchday 23 that will do battle in Round 2 of the 2023 Currie Cup this weekend. Photo: Ryan Byrne/INPHO/Shutterstock

Bulls drop Morne Steyn, recall big names for WP Currie Cup clash

The Bulls have made wholesale changes to the matchday 23 that will do battle in Round 2 of the 2023 Currie Cup this weekend.

Bismarck du Plessis Bulls Currie Cup

The Bulls have made wholesale changes to the matchday 23 that will do battle in Round 2 of the 2023 Currie Cup this weekend. Photo: Ryan Byrne/INPHO/Shutterstock

The Bulls have made wholesale changes to the matchday 23 that will do battle in Round 2 of the 2023 Currie Cup this weekend.

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Head coach Edgar Marutlulle has opted to bring in 14 fresh pairs of legs as the Pretoria franchise prepares to take on arch-rivals Western Province in a North-South derby.

Kick-off for the clash on Friday, 17 March is at 19:05.

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Among the forwards, Gerhard Steenekamp slots into loosehead and Mornay Smith starts at tighthead, flanking Johann Grobbelaar at hooker.

The second row will feature Ruan Vermaak and captain, Ruan Nortje, with Marco van Staden, Cyle Brink and Elrigh Louw completing the back row.

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Scrumhalf Zak Burger and flyhalf Chris Smith will link up as the halfback pairing with Harold Vorster and Cornal Hendricks directing traffic in midfield.

Sbu Nkosi and Quewin Nortje will line up at left and right wing, respectively, with David Kriel marshalling the troops from fullback.

Changes part of the Bulls’ plan

The changes remain part of the rotation plan as well as the need to ensure that all players have sufficient game time as the club heads into the final rounds of the United Rugby Championship (URC) season as well as the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.

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TEAMS

Bulls

15 David Kriel, 14 Quewin Nortje, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp

Substitutes: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans

Western Province

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Ruhan Nel, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Kwenzo Blose

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Bruce Sherwood