Matfield to captain Vodacom Bulls against Vodacom Cheetahs
Victor Matfield
There were few surprises in a strong Bulls Team to travel to Bloemfontein for the First Round of the Super 14 on Friday evening against the Vodacom Cheetahs. Victor Matfield will captain a side that includes fourteen players that represented the Bulls in last year’s Super 14 final.
All 22 members of the squad have Super 14 experience. There is a comeback for Gary Botha, who last played for the Bulls in the 2007 final and to make his return more special, Botha will play in his 50th match for the Bulls.
Matfield has expressed satisfaction at the inclusion of Gary Botha who has recently returned from abroad:
“Gary is such a great team man. He is also a very strong leader and brings plenty of experience with him,” said Matfield.
“His input about our scrumming will hopefully also help us to improve in that department.”
Jacques-Louis Potgieter, who last played for the Bulls in 2007, Bees Roux and Flip van der Merwe are three former Cheetahs players that will challenge their former team-mates from the bench.
Vodacom Blue Bulls Team
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Flip vd Merwe, 19 Derick Kuün, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Stephan Dippenaar.
Date: Friday, February 12
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referee: Marius Jonker, Reuben Rossouw
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
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