Matfield returns to bench
4 Mar 2009
Frans Ludeke has named Victor Matfield among his reserves for Saturday’s clash against the Stormers at Loftus.
Matfield injured his shoulder during the Bulls’ opening Super 14 match against the Reds, but the injury has cleared up and the Bulls’ Medical team have cleared him to take his place on the bench this weekend and Ludeke says Matfield’s role against the Stormers will be that of an impact player.
With Dewald Potgieter sidelined, Pedrie Wannenburg starts in the No 7 jersey and Jacques Burger takes his place amongst the reserves. JP Nel and Jaco Pretorius switch places with Nel getting his first start of the season.
Meanwhile, young winger Gerhard van den Heever comes in for the injured Bryan Habana. The 19-year-old prospect has been training with the senior squad for the past five months and Ludeke is confident the youngster will be able to do a job against the Stormers.
“Gerhard played for us in the warm-up matches and I am confident that he will do well for us,” said Ludeke.
Van den Heever is a product of the Affies and was one of the stalwarts of the Bulls’ U19 team of last year.
Bulls – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Subs – 16 Derick Kuün, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Victor Matfield, 19 Jacques Burger, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Jaco Pretorius.
29 Comments
4 Mar 2009, 11:55 am
Bully Boy Dragon.
4 Mar 2009, 12:00 pm
I apologise for the inane post above. The desire to grab the #1, with a dragon, does not always result in a worthwhile post..
But hey…..WTF…the dragon lives.
4 Mar 2009, 12:00 pm
He better hope he doesn’t get game time, because Luke is lurking {wil mos sy mond uitspoel}!!
4 Mar 2009, 12:01 pm
Interesting to see Chilli getting 2 starts in a row. Hopefully he can make the most of his chances and secure a long run in the team
4 Mar 2009, 12:01 pm
The last game against the Griffons in the VC Van den Heever was so poor they had to substitute him with Hougaard and bring JB Joubert into the mix. What happen now? It is a joke.
4 Mar 2009, 12:03 pm
What about Mametsa and Delport who are both seasoned wings.
4 Mar 2009, 12:09 pm
Good team…I’m looking forward to seeing what vd Heever can do at this level. I guess this is a loud and clear message that they do not think Mametsa is up to the task. Sad day IMO, I’ve always likes John.
4 Mar 2009, 12:14 pm
The message seems to be that Jaco Pretorius has been found wanting on defence…. which I suppose is true…
I would have played Jaco Pretorius on the wing, with Gerhard van den Heever on the bench…. noooo with Tiger Mangweni on the bench rather…
4 Mar 2009, 12:14 pm
#7 Kerneels: John is a good player but he is also to slow for S14 rugby on attack and cover defence. What is JP doing in the team?
4 Mar 2009, 12:17 pm
#8 grootblousmile: Tiger is also to slow to turn a game around and he is very small. Still surprised with the selection of JP though.
4 Mar 2009, 12:21 pm
#10 Mclaren: Maybe JP (Geelkaart Ninja) Nel has learned to curb his aggro in Japan with some Ninja self-control lessons !
4 Mar 2009, 12:24 pm
#10 Mclaren: Tiger is a good defender and an option at fullback and wing… should a centre get injured then Jaco Pretoors could move back there with Tiger coming in…. that’s what I would have done anyway…
In this way every backline postion is covered with the subs, having Francis there as well as Heinie….
But anyway, let’s see how astute Frans Ludeke has selected…
4 Mar 2009, 12:26 pm
I’m worried about Fourie du Preez’s half injured hand !
4 Mar 2009, 12:31 pm
No a bad bench! Hopefully we can keep the pace up for a full 80 minutes.
4 Mar 2009, 12:39 pm
They could have played Pierre Spies @ wing
4 Mar 2009, 12:49 pm
13. grootblousmile
me 2. I think they should rather have rested him and let it healproperly …. now he is risking him and this could result in a habs type injury and then he will miss all the important games .. du preez will be a much bigger loss
4 Mar 2009, 12:56 pm
now luke
is kakking himself
even more
he knows
how hard that
forearm is
that
bigvic
carries around
i see
pierre spies
also has one
now
4 Mar 2009, 13:36 pm
I didnt know that there was still such a thing as a white wing. Certainly a rare species these days.
4 Mar 2009, 13:53 pm
#17 Porra: I think he,s more worried about JP ‘the spear’Nel
4 Mar 2009, 13:55 pm
Lets hope van den Heever can contain Bekker on the wing.
4 Mar 2009, 13:57 pm
i think jp
also carries
something
on one
of his arms
4 Mar 2009, 13:58 pm
Generaal de Waal to target the debutant, but vdH should have enough backup with InZane en Aikona there for support. Let’s hope Wella Olivier passes the ball so that vdH can showcase his speed.
4 Mar 2009, 14:02 pm
If Pretorius can’t tackle why did the bulls bought him in the first place? A real dud.
4 Mar 2009, 14:04 pm
#23 Opdiebal:
they bought him
because they
all wanted
cheap mercs
4 Mar 2009, 14:05 pm
Wella is more concerned about his hair and first see he can’t use the ball before he passes. That help the defence to be in place.
4 Mar 2009, 14:06 pm
JP Geelkaart-Ninja Nel won’t put in a dangerous tackle this Saturday….. cause his opposition centre, Bekker, is to tall to hit high enough for it to be a dangerous tackle !
Hahaha
4 Mar 2009, 14:06 pm
#2 cane: You go Cane. If it floats your boat… LOL!
4 Mar 2009, 15:19 pm
Bulls, just play the ball and not the man on Saturday but remember – The Duke of Puke is the exception!
5 Mar 2009, 06:36 am
#26 grootblousmile: En Looke te kort, sal hom heeltemal mis!
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