Big weekend in Gauteng – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 3 Preview
Photo: Etienne Burger
The Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions host their coastal counterparts on Saturday in a big weekend of Vodacom Super Rugby for the five South African franchises.
Round 3 kicks off on Friday morning in Dunedin, with the first local match later that day in Bloemfontein where the Toyota Cheetahs will be taking on the touring Blues from Auckland.
Saturday sees two massive derbies in Gauteng, with the two hosts looking for their first wins of the season.
First up, the two most successful South African sides square off at Loftus Versfeld when the three-time champion Vodacom Bulls host the Cell C Sharks, runner-up four times already.
The final match of the weekend is at Emirates Airline Park, where the DHL Stormers will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the log against the Emirates Lions.
Toyota Cheetahs v Blues
Date: Friday, 27 February
SA Time: 19h10
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees (Australia), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Television match officials: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Team news:
- Cornal Hendricks, who scored his first-ever Vodacom Super Rugby try against the Blues in Auckland last year, will start his first match of the season, in place of Clayton Blommetjies.
- Carl Wegner takes over in the second row from the injured Lood de Jager for his first start at this level.
- Johann Sadie, back from club duty in Japan, is on the Toyota Cheetahs’ bench, next to Tienie Burger, who is in line for a Vodacom Super Rugby debut.
Stats:
- The last five games between these teams have been won by the home side, meaning the Blues have not won in Bloemfontein since 1 March 2008.
- The Blues are facing their worst-ever start to any Vodacom Super Rugby season as they have never before lost their first three games of a campaign.
Quotes:
Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské: “To keep continuity in team selection is really important for us, but also to reward the guys who played against the Sharks and helped us get that bonus point win. We’ve always struggled early in the season, which created pressure, but this year we got the five points in our first match and we need to build on that self-confidence. It will be a tough game against the Blues – they fought back with 14 men against the Stormers and could’ve won. We’re not naïve, we know it will be a very hard match on Friday.”
Toyota Cheetahs captain Francois Uys: “It was a massive confidence boost for us to win our first game and now we’re looking forward to facing the Blues. There were still a few things that needed fixing, so we put in one or two extra sessions, but we’re confident and will give it our all this week.”
The teams are:
Toyota Cheetahs: Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, Francois Venter, Michael van der Spuy, Raymond Rhule, Joe Pietersen, Sarel Pretorius, Willie Britz, Oupa Mohoje, Jean Cook, Francois Uys (captain), Carl Wegner, Coenie Oosthuizen, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Danie Mienie. Replacements:Stephan Coetzee, BG Uys, Maks van Dyk, Tienie Burger, Boom Prinsloo, Tian Meyer, Willie du Plessis, Johann Sadie.
Blues: Lolagi Visinia, Melani Nanai, Charles Piutau, Hamish Northcott, Tevita Li, Ihaia West, Jimmy Cowan, Jerome Kaino (captain), Brendon O’Connor, Luke Braid, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Bekhuis, Charlie Faumuina, James Parsons, Tony Woodcock. Replacements: Matt Moulds, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Angus Ta’avao, Steven Luatua, Akira Ioane, Jamison Gibson-Park, Simon Hickey, Francis Saili.
Toyota Cheetahs v Blues (since 2006):
P 8 W 2 L 6
Points scored: 201
Points conceded: 270
Tries scored: 26
Tries conceded: 33
Average score: 25-34 to the Blues
Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks
Date: Saturday, 28 February
SA Time: 17h05
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Television match officials: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Team news:
- Rudy Paige comes in at scrumhalf for his first start of the season for the Vodacom Bulls, for Piet van Zyl.
- The Vodacom Bulls’ bench shows three changes – Springbok prop Marcel van der Merwe is back from injury, while Travis Ismaiel and Tian Schoeman could make their Vodacom Super Rugby debut if they get game time.
- Dayan van der Westhuizen, Van Zyl and Jacques-Louis Potgieter are not in the match 23 this weekend.
- For the Cell C Sharks, the inclusion of Springbok No 8 Ryan Kankowski and Junior Springbok centre André Esterhuizen are the only changes to the starting team.
- They replace Tera Mtembu and Heimar Williams respectively, both of whom will miss the trip to Pretoria.
- On the Cell C Sharks’ bench, Bok prop Lourens Adriaanse is in line for their first appearance of the season, while outside back Jack Wilson could make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut, while Fred Zeilinga is bracketed with Lionel Cronjé.
- Four members of last year’s Junior Springbok team will be in action – Jesse Kriel and Handré Pollard for the home side, and André Esterhuizen and Thomas du Toit for the visitors.
Stats:
- The Cell C Sharks have not won in Pretoria since Round 18 in 2011, when they beat the Vodacom Bulls 26-23. The Durbanites have won at Loftus Versfeld four times out of 11 visits, with one draw.
- The last time the Vodacom Bulls lost three home matches on the trot was back in 2002.
- The Vodacom Bulls are the only South African franchise that has a positive win / loss record over the Cell C Sharks, although they have never beaten the KwaZulu-Natalians by more than nine points.
- By contrast, the Cell C Sharks’ biggest win over the Vodacom Bulls was by 29 points – 29-0 in Durban in 1999. They’ve also won by 22 points (2012).
Quotes:
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke: “We have started poorly, no doubt and we have put ourselves under pressure, even if it is early in the competition. One cannot really afford to drop any home matches if you have serious title aspirations, so nothing but a win will suffice. We realise the Sharks are one of the best teams in the competition, but we owe it to ourselves and the supporters out there to play to our potential. If we do that, we will be competitive as our squad is certainly good enough.”
Vodacom Bulls captain Pierre Spies: “We have lost to ourselves as much as our opponents so far. We need to eliminate the soft moments from our game and make sure we execute. It is going to be a tough battle, a typical local derby, but we are ready for this challenge.”
Cell C Sharks Assistant Coach Paul Anthony: “What is ideal is that we put in a better performance against the Lions after losing to the Cheetahs. We want our players to be accountable for how they perform. That game we lost, as with the Bulls against the Hurricanes, those were both literally millimetres away from victories. Without a doubt the players felt accountable after the Cheetahs loss. They knew that they weren’t on par, they were disappointed with themselves. But they all lifted their performances markedly and we’re hoping to lift it even more, game after game.”
The teams are:
Vodacom Bulls: Jesse Kriel, Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Francois Hougaard, Handré Pollard, Rudy Paige, Pierre Spies (captain), Lappies Labuschagne, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield, Jacques du Plessis, Trevor Nyakane, Adriaan Strauss, Morné Mellett. Replacements: Callie Visagie, Dean Greyling, Marcel van der Merwe, Grant Hattingh, Hanro Liebenberg, Tian Schoeman, Travis Ismaiel, Jurgen Visser.
Cell C Sharks: SP Marais, Odwa Ndungane, Waylon Murray, André Esterhuizen, Lwazi Mvovo, Patrick Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Renaldo Bothma, Marcell Coetzee, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Dale Chadwick. Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Thomas du Toit, Lourens Adriaanse, Marco Wentzel, Jean Deysel, Conrad Hoffmann, Fred Zeilinga / Lionel Cronjé, Jack Wilson.
Vodacom Bulls v Cell C Sharks (since 1998):
P 22 Vodacom Bulls won 12, Cell C Sharks won 9, one draw
Vodacom Bulls points scored: 404
Cell C Sharks points scored: 476
Vodacom Bulls tries scored: 32
Cell C Sharks tries scored: 50
Average score: 22-18 to the Cell C Sharks
Emirates Lions v DHL Stormers
Date: Saturday, 28 February
SA Time: 19h10
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Andrew Lees (Australia)
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
Television match official: Marius Jonker
Team news:
- The Emirates Lions starting team shows eight changes from last week – four in the backline and four amongst the forwards.
- Upfront there is a new front row, comprising of Schalk van der Merwe, Robbie Coetzee and Julian Redelinghuys, while Jaco Kriel is back at flank from injury.
- At the back, Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Elton Jantjies (flyhalf), Harold Vorster (inside centre) and Sampie Mastriet (wing) will all get their first starts of the season.
- The Emirates Lions bench is also vastly different with Jaco van der Walt included to cover flyhalf position – he will make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut should he het game time.
- Bongi Mbonambi and Nizaam Carr have been promoted from the bench for the DHL Stormers in the only two changes to their starting line-up.
- On the bench, Scarra Ntubeni will be joined by Frans Malherbe and Manuel Carizza, both back from injury, while Rynardt Elstadt has been ruled out of action for at least four months.
Stats:
- The Emirates Lions have beaten the DHL Stormers only once since the Cats franchise ceased to exist after 2005 – it was an emphatic 34-10 win in the corresponding fixture in Johannesburg last year.
- Encounters between these two sides don’t deliver heaps of tries – only once before in their previous 11 matches has one of the sides scored four tries or more, when the DHL Stormers got eight in their 56-18 win in Cape Town in 2009.
- The Emirates Lions have never scored more than two tries against the DHL Stormers.
Quotes:
Emirates Lions coach Johan Ackermann: “We had to be honest with ourselves this week (after losing to the Sharks last weekend) and there were some harsh words said. We weren’t happy with our performance, but we need to trust what we put in place and address issues as a collective group, not as individuals. We simply have to improve this week.”
Emirates Lions captain Warren Whiteley: “Coming off two loses isn’t easy and it’s important to bounce back so we’ve tried to rectify the mistakes we’ve made. We were probably our biggest enemy over the last two weeks.”
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee: “It’s our second challenge (early in the competition) at altitude and we’re expecting a very tough encounter against a desperate Lions team who are back at home again. From our side we are looking for continuous improvement in our play. Yes, we have won two matches but we are not fully satisfied and know that we can get better – and must get better – if we are to build on our start. We need to front up and need all of our key men to be at their best for what will be a very challenging match.”
The teams are:
Emirates Lions: Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Sampie Mastriet, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley (captain), Warwick Tecklenburg, Jaco Kriel, Martin Muller, Franco Mostert, Julian Redelinghuys, Robbie Coetzee, Schalk van der Merwe.Replacements: Armand van der Merwe, Corné Fourie, Ruan Dreyer, Robert Kruger, Derick Minnie, Ross Cronje, Jaco van der Walt, Howard Mnisi.
DHL Stormers: Cheslin Kolbe, Johnny Kotze, Juan de Jongh, Damian de Allende, Dillyn Leyds, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom, Duane Vermeulen (captain), Michael Rhodes, Nizaam Carr, Ruan Botha, Jurie van Vuuren, Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Oli Kebble, Frans Malherbe, Manuel Carizza, Siya Kolisi, Louis Schreuder, Kurt Coleman, Huw Jones.
Emirates Lions v DHL Stormers (since 2006):
Played 11 Emirates Lions won 1, DHL Stormers won 10
Emirates Lions points scored: 172
DHL Stormers points scored: 288
Emirates Lions tries scored: 13
DHL Stormers tries scored: 30
Average score: 26-16 to the DHL Stormers
Other fixtures (SA kick-off times):
Friday, 27 February:
08h35: Highlanders v Reds – Dunedin
13h00: Force v Hurricanes – Perth
Saturday, 28 February:
08h35: Chiefs v Crusaders – Hamilton
10h40: Rebels v Brumbies – Melbourne
Bye: Waratahs
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