Cape Town – Lionel Mapoe and Stedman Gans have bolstered the Bulls for Saturday’s crunch Currie Cup encounter against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein (5.45pm kickoff).
The classy centre pair have both played important roles in the Bulls marching into the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-finals this season, but missed out on the trip to Dublin for Friday night’s showdown with Leinster.
Mapoe has been laid low by an injury that has kept him out for a number of weeks, which has seen Cornal Hendricks excel as the midfield partner to Harold Vorster in the URC side.
But the veteran Springbok is fit again and will team up with Gans, who has played mainly off the bench in the URC, against the Cheetahs on Saturday.
Coach Gert Smal needed all the experience he could get in the Currie Cup side, with the Bulls taking 28 players to Ireland for the URC playoff.
Apart from Mapoe and Gans, Richard Kriel will provide solidity at fullback, while scrumhalf Keagan Johannes has been outstanding this season and was unlucky to miss out on selection for the Leinster clash.
New lock Ruan Vermaak will look to make a major impact as he finds his feet in Pretoria, while old warhorse Jacques van Rooyen is on the comeback path from a knee injury that has sidelined him for a while.
The Bulls are currently leading the Currie Cup log with 47 points, four ahead of the Cheetahs, and the home side will be keen to get their game back on track after suffering a surprise 29-28 loss to the Pumas at Free State Stadium last week.
Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar will captain the Cheetahs, who also have Clayton Blommetjies, Rosko Specman and Siya Masuku in an exciting backline, but are still missing the injured Springbok Frans Steyn.
It’s a straight shoot-out for top spot on the log, with the points difference virtually the same (122 for the Bulls compared to 123 for the Cheetahs). So, the Bulls will just need a losing bonus point and must deny the Cheetahs a four-try bonus point to end as the No 1 side, which will secure them a home final if they win their semi-final.
Teams
Bulls: 15 Richard Kriel 14 Tharquin Manuel 13 Stedman Gans 12 Lionel Mapoe 11 Quewin Nortje 10 Juan Mostert 9 Keagan Johannes 8 Muller Uys (captain) 7 Jaco Labuschagne 6 Eric Basson 5 Ruan Vermaak 4 Raynard Roets 3 Jacques van Rooyen 2 Sidney Tobias 1 Cebo Dlamini.
Bench: 16 Schalk Erasmus 17 Tielman Nieuwoudt 18 Francois Klopper 19 Ruan Delport 20 Willie Potgieter 21 Tiaan Fourie 22 FC du Plessis 23 Niel Beukes.
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies 14 Daniel Kasende 13 David Brits 12 Chris Smit 11 Rosko Specman 10 Siya Masuku 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain) 8 Jeandre Rudolph 7 Aidon Davis 6 Andisa Ntsila 5 Victor Sekekete 4 Rynier Bernardo 3 Aranos Coetzee 2 Louis van der Westhuizen 1 Cameron Dawson.
Bench: 16 Marnus van der Merwe 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Marne Coetzee 19 Ockie Barnard 20 George Cronje 21 Mihlali Mosi 22 Rewan Kruger 23 Robert Ebersohn.
IOL Sport