Jake White has named Marcell Coetzee as Bulls captain for their last Rainbow Cup SA encounter with the Sharks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
Coetzee takes over the captaincy and No 8 jersey from the injured Duane Vermeulen, with Marco van Staden covering openside flank.
White continues to test combinations and positions, with Ruan Nortje shifting to blindside flank, thus opening up space for Janko Swanepoel to start in the second row. Nortje’s move to the side of the scrum is a result of the injury to Elrigh Louw.
The rest of the starting lineup remains unchanged.
Springbok Nizaam Carr and Junior Springbok Muller Uys have received call-ups to take the places of Swanepoel and Van Staden on the bench, respectively.
‘We have approached this match as if it were a semi-final,’ White said. ‘Nothing less than a win is good enough. The boys need no further motivation and despite a few injuries, come Saturday we will be focused and determined to execute our plan.’
Bulls – 15 Dawid Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Ruan Nortjie, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Subs: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Muller Uys, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Gio Aplon, 24 Robert Hunt, 25 Jan Uys, 26 Dawid Kellerman, 27 Richard Kriel.
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Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
