Vodacom Bulls XV coach Phiwe Nomlomo has handed three players their Currie Cup debuts for Friday’s Currie Cup clash against the Stormers XXIII at Loftus Versfeld.
Loosehead prop Arno Gustafson and outside centre Pieter van der Merwe will make their first appearances in the starting XV, while hooker Duwan Potgieter is set to make his debut from the bench.
The trio takes the Bulls’ tally of Currie Cup debutants this season to 27 as Nomlomo continues to give opportunities to young players.
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Keagan Johannes retains the captaincy at scrumhalf, with Devon Williams named at flyhalf.
Heinrich Theron and Sintu Manjezi form the second-row partnership, while Kebotile Maake, Abongile Nonkontwana and JJ Theron make up the loose trio.
Maake was named the Bulls U19 Player of the Year on Wednesday, while JJ Theron collected the U21 and U23 Forward of the Year awards.
Riyaad Bam and Marnus Rademeyer join fullback Hakeem Kunene in the back three, with Van der Merwe partnering Demitre Erasmus in midfield.
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The Bulls XV remain winless in the Currie Cup but showed plenty of fight in their last outing, recovering from a 30-point deficit against the Cheetahs before eventually going down 62-52.
BULLS XV – 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Marnus Rademeyer, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Riyaad Bam, 10 Devon Williams, 9 Keagan Johannes (c), 8 JJ Theron, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Kebotile Maake, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Arno Gustafson, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Dylan Smith.
Bench: 16 Jon Hobson, 17 Sandi Msengana, 18 Duwan Potgieter, 19 Johnathan Eloff, 20 Chinedu Amadi, 21 Cephas van Biljon, 22 Brooklyn Newman, 23 Christiaan Vlok.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Winless Bulls gamble on young guns appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Vodacom Bulls XV coach Phiwe Nomlomo has handed three players their Currie Cup debuts for Friday’s Currie Cup clash against the Stormers XXIII at Loftus Versfeld.
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