United Rugby Championship: Bulls vs Munster on Saturday

Simphiwe Matanzima and Embrose Papier will mark their 50 cap milestones in the Bulls URC Round 14 match against Munster.

The Bulls face Munster on Saturday afternoon from 17:05 at Loftus Versfeld.

URC 50 FOR SIMPHIWE MATANZIMA AND EMBROSE PAPIER

Matanzima and Papier, both 26 years old, made their tournament debuts in the 2021/2022 season. Since then, Matanzima, a front-row stalwart, has completed 162 tackles with an amazing 95% success rate, while Papier, a Springbok scrumhalf, has gained 804 yards and scored 11 tries.

Papier will line up at halfback alongside flyhalf, Johan Goosen and the pair will direct the flow of traffic with the support of a forward pack that sees Gerhard Steenekamp (loosehead), Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Wilco Louw (tight-head) in the front row. Behind them will be the lock combination of Ruan Vermaak and JF van Heerden. To complete the forward’s pack, Cameron Hanekom shifts to the blind side with Reinhardt Ludwig lining up at open-side flank. Elrigh Louw will lead the side from eight.

At the back Sebastien de Klerk will run out at left wing, pairing up with Kurt-Lee Arendse on the right side of the fortress. The centre pairing of David Kriel and Canan Moodie gets another run with Willie Le Roux providing seasoned cover from fullback.

OFF THE BENCH IN BULLS CLASH AGAINST MUNSTER

Matanzima will come off the bench to bring up his 50. He forms part of the 5-3 split impact squad which has Akker van der Merwe, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Mpilo Gumede, Zak Burger, Chris Smith and Devon Williams.

Bulls boss Jake White is hopeful some of the injured troops will return soon and has great confidence in his squad depth.

“I am hopeful that Ruan Nortje will return soon and Marco – who has been side-lined since the Munster game – should be two to three weeks away now. We should be okay over the next couple of weeks and this is an opportunity for the next guy in line,”

BULLS UPDATE ON MARCEL COETZEE

White provided an update on Marcel Coetzee

 “Marcel had an operation whilst we were away [at Northampton] and the doctors discovered that it was worse than initially thought and it looks like he will not feature for us for the remainder of this season. He is a big loss for us,” White said.

White added that he is excited to see how well this combination play together.

“It is a very interesting situation where we have a 19-year-old lock, 21-year-old flanks and a captain who is only 23. It is exciting because we have seen how Ludwig and Hanekom have grown quickly and we have seen the growth of Elrigh over the last couple of years. He too [Elrigh] was that age when he started with us. So, this is a combination I am looking forward to seeing because it has everything. It has skill, height, pace and it has youth which comes with energy,”

“We are also playing at altitude, on our field which is generally quick. So having loose forwards who can also run is also a strength for us as well.”

URC RACE WIDE OPEN

White says the run-in remains very open to everyone.

“The one thing we know about this competition is, like any other competition, is that home-ground advantage at the end is vital. We saw what it has done for the Stormers. Not only does it have financial benefits but the fact that you then play the best teams at home and give yourself a chance to win,”

“This season is still very open, yes with a lot of permutations but all we can do is to make sure we win as many games as we can between now and the end of the regulation rounds of the league, giving ourselves the best possible chance to finish as high as possible.”

On the opposition this weekend, the Vodacom Bulls mentor said: “Munster are the VURC champions for a reason. They beat the Stormers in Cape Town to win it and there aren’t many teams who have gotten that right,”

“It is not only their attack but they have a good team and we are going to take it like a final for us because they are – like the Stormers – the benchmark of the competition. They also know how to win in South Africa,”

“We are going to have to play well to beat them tomorrow.”

BULLS TEAM TO FACE MUNSTER

BULLS STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. JF van Heerden, 6. Cameron Hanekom, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 8. Elrigh Louw (c), 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. Sebastien de Klerk, 12. David Kriel, 13. Canan Moodie, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15. Willie Le Roux

Substitutes: 16. Akker van der Merwe, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Mpilo Gumede, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Devon Williams

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