Second row switch for Bulls
22 May 2012
Wilhelm Steenkamp replaces Juandré Kruger in the only change to the Bulls’ starting line-up for their crucial encounter with the Chiefs.
Elsewhere Dewald Potgieter and CJ Stander have recovered from injuries and retain their places in the loose trio. Coach Frans Ludeke said the switch in the second row was in line with their rotational policy.
‘We have a rotational policy and have a buy-in from all the players about it. Wilhelm has played very well of the bench this far in the competition, so I have no problem in starting him. Juandré will obviously play an important role as substitute, which will be crucial against a classy side like the Chiefs,’ Ludeke said.
‘They are a very difficult side to play against, especially now that their set piece has improved. This helps them to play an all round game and we will have to be on the money with our execution if we want to achieve a result. They are not pace setters for nothing.’
Bulls – Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 CJ Stander, 6 Dewald Potgieter, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.
Subs: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Juandré Kruger, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
40 Comments
22 May 2012, 10:08 am
Play Juandre Kruger at blindside flank! I see him ultimately playing in that position for the boks. Great extra lineout option, physical and a lot of speed for a big guy.
22 May 2012, 10:13 am
@stand-off(Braders)-1:
Very good observation,he definitely can play there-very athletic player.But think he adds an extra dimension because of that when at lock.Could definitely do a “Danie Rossouw” hybrid job though for Boks.
Flip vd Merwe needs to step up,after a good 2010 season he has been fairly avg for 18 months now
22 May 2012, 10:14 am
Forget who plays , its how you play , if the Bulls are going to Kick for 75min and play for the last 5mins, they will not achieve anything
22 May 2012, 10:31 am
Interesting ‘rotational policy’, seemed it doesn’t apply to Chiliboi?
Kruger was their best forward last week while Flip seemed to be more interested in small brawls off the ball with little contribution to the Bulls effort
22 May 2012, 10:37 am
Can’t the Bulls get rid of Zane, please can they not sign another contract with him.
I wonder how Akona will be at fullback, he’s a good defender, kicks are not to bad ( that can be worked on ), runs great lines, he’s got more than enough speed and very good under the high ball. They can then bring the young wings in to the squad. Just a thought.
22 May 2012, 10:42 am
I actually thought Flip and Spies had some their better games
22 May 2012, 10:51 am
@JA-JA(JA-JA)-5:
Both the Ndungane brothers could be very good 15′s especially they are in their 30′s now and have lost some speed but are very smart footballers with very little weaknesses and good skillset.Totally agree with that
22 May 2012, 10:59 am
O’Neill defends Aussie teams
ARU boss John O’Neill admits it would be a blow if only one Australian franchise was to make the Super Rugby finals.
But O’Neill also dismissed the notion the lack of success so far this season proves the Aussie conference is weak.
With just five rounds of the Super Rugby season left, the ACT Brumbies are the only Australian side in the top six of the competition.
While defending champions Queensland have overcome their slow start to the season and are making a late charge for a finals berth, the Waratahs, Rebels and Force have struggled to make much of an impact.
The poor results have led to much criticism of the Australian sides, with suggestions there simply isn’t enough talent in the domestic game to support five teams and that the Aussie conference isn’t as competitive as New Zealand and South Africa.
But O’Neill said the emergence of the Brumbies and some good recent results by the Rebels and Reds against the other SANZAR nations shows the Australian game is still strong.
“For people who have been arguing or saying that the Australian conference is weak, I don’t think the recent results with Australian teams beating New Zealand and South African team supports that notion,” O’Neill said on Tuesday.
“The Brumbies have been the surprise packet and if you looked at their odds at the start of the season, you wouldn’t have picked them to be heading the conference but they’ve played a very good style of rugby.
“And the Reds are coming home with a wet sail.
“Of course I’d always prefer to see to Australian teams in the final six.
“But it will be quite a tight finish I think. You want two Australian teams in final six but I’m very happy with the way their all performing and putting in.”
While conceding the success of the Waratahs is important in the big Sydney market, O’Neill denies their poor performances and dropping crowd figures is a concern for the ARU.
“The Waratahs have had a lot of injuries and that’s disrupted their campaign,” he said.
“A few weeks ago I was at the game against the Crusaders and they were unlucky to get beaten by a very good team in front of a very good crowd.
“It’s a game of fine margins.
“You only need to look at number of bonus points they’ve accumulated for finishing within seven points. They’ve had a lot of narrow losses but it’s not for a want of trying.”
O’Neill was in Sydney to launch the start of the Test season, which begins in Newcastle on June 5 against Scotland.
The Wallabies will then play three Tests on consecutive weekends against Six Nations champions Wales, starting on June 9 in Brisbane, in Melbourne a week later and finally a return to Test rugby at Allianz Stadium on June 23.
Asked how he thought the Wallabies will cope with two Tests in just four days against the Scots and Welsh, O’Neill said: “It’s not ideal but it’s manageable.
“It’s not a schedule that you would normally plan but Robbie (coach Robbie Deans) and the selectors are capable of picking a squad of 30 players, maybe a few more than that, which will get us through both games.
“This is a one-off. It’s not going to happen every year.”
22 May 2012, 10:59 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-7: Thanks man. I think it will make the Bulls a much more unpredictable side especially on the counter attack.
22 May 2012, 11:05 am
they were lucky to get out of jail the week before, maybe the loss will be a wake-up call for them. they need to sharpen up their game considerably, i was happier with their defence, but their attack seems worse than the Stormers.
ok just kidding, but its bad anyway.
22 May 2012, 11:08 am
@roobarb2(roobarb2)-10: Is that possible ??
22 May 2012, 11:08 am
Juandre Kruger is, for me, the stand-out forward for the Bulls this year (followed closely by CJ Stander). If he doesn’t get a Bok call-up then I should give up watching this game because I’ll clearly know nothing.
22 May 2012, 11:13 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-12: Locks Eben and Juandre
22 May 2012, 11:18 am
@capebull(capebull)-13: I could easily live with that. Given that you’ll need to rotate three guys between the two positions, any combination of Bekker, Kruger and Etsebeth would be just fine for the katman.
22 May 2012, 11:28 am
nice mix that, grunt and lineout dominance.
and limited yellow card liability.
22 May 2012, 11:28 am
this team can take on the chiefs!
22 May 2012, 11:29 am
despite the result last week, I thought the bulls had their best tackle-fight-gain line performance of the season. correct me if I am wrong but Flip slowly looks to be on the up these past 2 weekends. this trend needs to continue.
I would go as far as to say that any further bulls championship ambitions hinge on flip stepping up. we are sorely missing a hard lock forward.the backrow needs to stay injury free and settle on a midlied combo. I’d be making every effort to get young venter on the field if not at 12 at least at 13.
22 May 2012, 11:44 am
oh, and sadie seriously needs to pull the finger out.
22 May 2012, 11:45 am
@Transie O’Neil is an IDIOT
22 May 2012, 11:53 am
i thought the stormers were/are the pace setters, frans..?…
22 May 2012, 12:13 pm
Sadie will be a Bok reckoning
22 May 2012, 12:26 pm
No he won’t.
22 May 2012, 13:00 pm
20 Houston That is what Frans Ludeke will say next week!. Each week we hear the next oppenent is the best or flipping awesome !
22 May 2012, 13:15 pm
@Jonck(Jonck)-23:
true.
22 May 2012, 14:09 pm
This is the game of the season.
The winner of this game will (should) finish 1st overall, which means a home semi and possibly a home final.
22 May 2012, 14:10 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-21: not at the rate he’s currently playing!
22 May 2012, 14:15 pm
@stand-off(Braders)-1: @mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-2: Not yet there physically and, more importantly, mentally.
The 7 needs to be a supremely physical player, certainly more physical than a 5 lock.
But the Stormers also showed that if you get in his face he still lacks the discipline and the ability to box his frustration.
So no, even though he has the length to be a lineout option at the tail, I don’t think he is there yet.
I will consider him as the athletic 5 lock, though. Strongly consider him.
What made Juan Smith such a legendary player at 7 was not only his supreme physicality, but also his discipline. How many yellows did he receive in his career?
22 May 2012, 14:18 pm
@Jonck(Jonck)-23:
wat hy bedoel met “pace setters” is juis wat die artiekel oor gaan – hulle is die “pace setters” in algehele rugby maw, hulle aanval, verdediging, vastespel, losspel alles saamgevat is hulle vereker die “pace setters”
22 May 2012, 14:20 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-18: Out of where?
22 May 2012, 14:21 pm
@willievz(willievz)-27:
dioe bokke het n groot probleem op 7,8,13,14,15 die spelers wat ons daar het is net nie goed genoeg nie ons kan dalk vir Pat lambie op 15 speel dit sal daai probleem oplos maar ver der het ons groot bok drolle.
22 May 2012, 14:24 pm
Skandalis kom by die skool en sê vir die juffrou: Juffrou ek wil jou net vroegtydig waarsku. My Pa het gesê as my punte nie verbeter nie gaan iemand gemoer word.
22 May 2012, 14:35 pm
@vasteses(vasteses)-30: Die lostrio gaan interessant wees.
Is ‘n lostrio met beide Brussow en Burger effektief? Wie kies jy, en wie los jy uit? Wat maak ons met Alberts, Vermeulen, en Josh Strauss?
Daar is ‘n paar opsies op 13, maar die groot vraag is hoe die kombinasies daarna gaan uitsien. Dit klink vir my of HM vir F.Steyn en JDV gaan kies – ‘n goeie kombinasie oor die korttermyn, maar nie noodwendig een wat ek teen die Kiwis en Aussies sal kies nie.
Andries Coetzee is ‘n 15 wat vaartversnelling en voortvarendheid na die tafel bring. Ek sal ‘n kans waag met hom – hy lyk gevaarlik elke keer as hy aan die bal raak en het die brein van ‘n losskakel. Die ander opsie is om Frans op 15 te kies – opponente sal nie die bal veld-af jaag op hom nie omdat hy ‘n skepskop-gevaar inhou, en sal eerder die bal vanuit hul eie halfgebied wil hardloop.
22 May 2012, 14:47 pm
wat van pietersen op 15?
22 May 2012, 17:09 pm
@roobarb2(roobarb2)-33: Joe of JP?
22 May 2012, 19:00 pm
Im so pleased to see Juandre Kruger so well. Watched him stand out for the Northampton Saints week in and week out. I’d keep him at lock and just enjoy the benefits of the extra athleticism at Bok level-everyone always saying that the oppo target our pack because they’re not mobile enough anyway.
22 May 2012, 19:14 pm
@Yetirat(Yetirat)-35:
Didn’t Juandre also play at blindside for the Saints?
22 May 2012, 20:17 pm
Another player deserving of the bench is Chilliboy, let’s face it people Willie Wepener is pushing & performing well enough for a start
He has also fallen of the running for the bok #2
Bismarck,Strauss & Tiaan have sepassed his early competition form & are the candidates for the bok jersey and the fact that Schalk Britz has withdrawn from the Baa Baa squad & is in the country might be an indication that Meyer might have given him a call
23 May 2012, 07:41 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-31: ?
23 May 2012, 07:43 am
@vasteses(vasteses)-31: My apologies for the ? Typo. Good one?
23 May 2012, 07:44 am
@roobarb2(roobarb2)-15: Excellent point! Flip lucky to get away with the headbut.
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