Vital home clashes in Cape Town and Pretoria – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 11 Preview
- DHL Stormers back at DHL Newlands
- Emirates Lions continue with tour Down Under
- Vodacom Bulls host Highlanders in Pretoria
The DHL Stormers face the Rebels on Friday afternoon in Cape Town and the Vodacom Bulls host the Highlanders on Saturday afternoon in Pretoria in the two local Vodacom Super Rugby matches this weekend.
Friday’s public holiday fixture in the Cape starts at 15h05 and the Pretoria clash on Saturday gets underway at 17h15.
Wedged in the middle of these matches, the Emirates Lions continue with their tour Down Under when they visit Brisbane on Saturday morning to face the Reds. The Highvelders’ second tour match kicks off at 07h05 (SA time).
The Cell C Sharks have a break while the other team in the South African Conference, the Jaguares, face the Blues in Auckland on Saturday morning (09h35).
Robbie Fleck’s DHL Stormers are bottom of the local conference table and they have to beat the visiting Rebels on Friday if they want to stand any realistic chance of a wildcard playoff spot. The Melbourne outfit, meanwhile, will also be determined to bounce back from their defeat of last week to the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria.
Wing JJ Engelbrecht and flank Kobus van Dyk will start for the Cape side. Engelbrecht’s selection on the left wing is the only change to the backline, while in the forward pack Van Dyk comes in at blindside flank, with Pieter-Steph du Toit shifting to lock.
Lizo Gqoboka earns a first start of the year and Jason Jenkins is picked at flank in the Vodacom Bulls’ starting team to face the Highlanders at home on Saturday. Front ranker Gqoboka came off the bench in all eight matches so far this season, but will get a starting opportunity because of the suspension of Pierre Schoeman.
Jenkins, a regular lock, moves off the bench to the side of the scrum in place of the injured Roelof Smit. Marco van Staden moves back from No 8 to his usual fetcher role, Thembelani Bholi is now the No 8 and Jenkins shifts into the No 7 jersey.
Emirates Lions coach Swys de Bruin has made just one change to the team that triumphed so impressively over the Waratahs in Sydney last week. Rohan Janse van Rensburg starts in midfield because Lionel Mapoe is sidelined with a groin strain. The big centre will wear the No 12 jersey while Harold Vorster will start at outside centre.
What they said:
DHL Stormers head Coach Robbie Fleck said his side is looking forward to playing at home again after three away matches: “It is always good to be back at DHL Newlands and playing in front of our faithful supporters who have played a big role in our three wins at home this season.”
Emirates Lions coach Swys de Bruin has opted to go with six forward replacements for the Reds encounter: “We wanted load the bench a bit with forwards so we can have a go at them, and we can always move Kwagga Smith or Hacjivah Dayimani to the backs if needed. We trained really well this week and the guys are looking forward to facing the Reds.”
Vodacom Bulls coach John Mitchell said he is keen to see his team having a go against the Highlanders: “They delivered some strong performances so far this year, making for a proper contest and a very good test on our progress. We are improving and that’s nice, but we need to improve week by week.”
DHL STORMERS VS REBELS
#STOvREB
Head to head:
Played: 5
DHL Stormers won: 4
Rebels won: 1
DHL Stormers points: 175
Rebels Lions points: 100
Average score: 35-20
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Craig Barry, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 SP Marais, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Rebels: 15 Jack Maddocks, 14 Tom English, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Angus Cottrell, 6 Lopeti Timani, 5 Adam Coleman (captain), 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Tetera Faulkner. Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Fereti Sa’aga, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Semisi Tupou, 23 Sefa Naivalu.
Match information:
Date: Friday, 27 April
SA time: 15h05
Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen and Rasta Rasivhenge (SA)
Television match official: Christie du Preez (SA)
TV: SuperSport 1
REDS vs EMIRATES LIONS
#REDvLIO
Head to head:
Played: 18
Reds won: 11
Emirates Lions: 6
Draws: 1
Reds points: 475
Emirates Lions: 399
Average score: 26-22
Teams:
Reds: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12 Samu Kerevi (captain), 11 Jordan Petaia, 10 Hamish Stewart, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Caleb Timu, 7 George Smith, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith. Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Harry Hoopert, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Harry Hockings, 20 Adam Korczyk, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Duncan Paia’aua, 23 Izaia Perese.
Emirates Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Dillon Smit, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Franco Mostert (captain), 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Marnus Schoeman, 22 Nic Groom, 23 Ashlon Davids.
Match information:
Date: Saturday, 28 April
SA time: 07h05
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry and Damon Murphy (Aus)
Television match official: Damien Mitchelmore (Aus)
TV: SuperSport 1
VODACOM BULLS vs HIGHLANDERS
#BULvHIG
Head to head:
Played: 18
Vodacom Bulls won: 5
Highlanders won: 12
Draws: 1
Vodacom Bulls points: 412
DHL Stormers points: 522
Average score: 23-29
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls: 15. Warrick Gelant, 14. Divan Rossouw, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Thembelani Bholi, 7 Jason Jenkins, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Lizo Gqoboka. Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Frans van Wyk, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Nick de Jager, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Travis Ismaiel.
Highlanders: TBA
Match information:
Date: Saturday, 28 April
SA time: 17h15
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZ)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) and AJ Jacobs (SA)
Television match official: Willie Vos (SA)
TV: SuperSport 1
Other Round 11 fixtures (SA kick-off times):
Friday, 27 April
09h35: Hurricanes v Sunwolves, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, 28 April
09h35: Blues v Jaguares, Eden Park, Auckland
11h45: Brumbies v Crusaders, GIO Stadium, Canberra
Bye: Cell C Sharks.
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