White names Bok-laden Bulls team for URC quarterfinal
The Bulls will be looking to win through to their third semifinals appearance in four seasons.
Bulls boss Jake White has picked a formidable side for the team's United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld at 1.30pm on Saturday.
In all, there are nine Springboks in the starting team in what is now a very familiar looking side.
In the absence of the injured Johan Goosen, Keagan Johannes will continue to wear the No 10 jersey, with Willie le Roux at fullback. Earlier this season when Goosen was also out, Le Roux deputised at flyhalf, but White has opted to keep his specialist players in their preferred positions. That said, Johannes started out as a scrumhalf.
Return of Papier at scrumhalf
All three men in the front row are Boks, namely Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw, while the back row is also packed with international players — Marcell Coetzee, Cameron Hanekom and captain Ruan Nortje who continues to be backed as a blindside flanker.
In the backs Embrose Papier is back in place of Zak Burger, to partner Johannes, while Canan Moodie will play on the right wing.
The Bulls are looking to win through to their third URC semifinal, after playing in two previous finals.
Bulls: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian de Klerk, Keagan Johannes, Embrose Papier, Cameron Hanekom, Ruan Nortje (capt), Marcell Coetzee, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Bench: Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Marco van Staden, Zak Burger, Stedman Gans, Devon Williams
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IOL News
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The Citizen
4 hours ago
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IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
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Centre Harold Vorster dives over in the corner for one of the six tries the Bulls scored in the quarter-final against Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Image: BackpagePix The Bulls are through to another semi-final in the United Rugby Championship (URC) after a hard-fought victory over a fighting Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. After struggling to get going for most of the first forty minutes, the hosts scored three crucial tries in the early stages of the second half, completing a 42-33 victory to secure a home semi in the final four of the tournament. They scored six tries to entertain the 20 000-strong crowd but had to defend for their lives in the final 20 minutes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ That is when the Scottish club found a second wind at altitude and mounted a fightback when they were down 39-21. Two late tries gave them a sniff with 15 minutes to play, but some excellent defensive efforts by the hosts saw them halt attack after attack of the visitors. It was all Edinburgh when the contest kicked off, and they got off to a better start with two tries within the first 15 minutes of play. They put the Bulls under pressure and a yellow card to Sebastian de Klerk for a shoulder charge after three minutes didn't help the home side. However, after they absorbed the pressure of the first quarter and the nerves settled, with fullback Willie le Roux at the helm of the attack, the Bulls mounted their fightback and took control of the game. Le Roux assisted two of the fightback tries. His distribution down the backline from first receiver was excellent, and the cutout passes he threw caught the Edinburgh defence out a couple of times. That line he ran off an Embrose Papier pass that led to David Kriel's score was sublime. So too was a pass out wide to De Klerk on the left touchline that put the flyer into space. He then chipped the defence and passed to Vorster for the third try in the corner. Two tries that will be contenders for try of the match in the Bulls camp, were the solo effort of flyhalf Keagan Johannes from almost his own half and Canan Moodie's try where Le Roux also assisted. As a second receiver, Le Roux took the ball to the line and with a lovely delayed pass, he put Moodie in a gap to run through and score. The build-up to the Moodie try was excellent between the forward and backs It was those two tries after eight minutes of rugby in the second half that put the Bulls in the driving seat. They got out to a good gap after trailing 21-18 at halftime. The burrowing try of captain Ruan Nortjé after about 50 minutes of rugby was the final points for the home side, but they built up a good enough lead to defend. That they did with some strong tackles and good turnovers as the visitors continued to look for a way back in the game.
