Van Zyl lead Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 in season opener.

Jul 5 • General News • 3305 Views • Comments Off on Van Zyl lead Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 in season opener.

Joe van Zyl will captain the Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 team on Saturday when they take on DHL Western Province in their opening match of the SA Rugby Provincial Under-19 championship in Cape Town.

The clash at DHL Newlands kicks off at 14h40.

The squad will include Ruben Beytell, who represented the team last year while still at school and will see Lian du Toit, who travelled with the Vodacom Bulls to Singapore last weekend, starting at scrumhalf.

It will also be a sort of homecoming to Janko Swanepoel, who hails from Stellenberg High School in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.

Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 coach, Nollis Marais, said: “It does not get tougher, starting against DHL Western Province on their home turf in Cape Town, but we would not have wanted it any other way. This tournament demands the best of every team every week, so we are keen to test ourselves against WP. This will be a good measurement of where we are at in our progress as a team.”

The team is: Andrew Kota, Sebastian Jobb, Marnus Potgieter, Jay-Cee Nel (v/c), Rune Lucas, Vaughan Isaacs, Lian du Toit, Orateng Koikanyang, Jaco Labuschagne, Philip Potgieter, Janko Swanepoel, Louis Meiring, James Combrink, Joe van Zyl (c), Kudzwai Dube.

Replacements: Llewellyn Classen, Wiehan Bezuidenhout, Carl Els, Dylan Kruger, Johan Mulder, Ruben Beytell, Gerswin Mouton, Keanu Prinsloo.

#DayofLegend: #BullsFamily Parade of Legends

The Vodacom Bulls will celebrate 80 years of #BullsFamily history against the Jaguares on Saturday, 7 July with a host of activities to commemorate the #DayofLegends.

The Parade of Legends will spearhead the festivities as hundreds of past Vodacom Bulls legends take to Loftus Versfeld as they relive their rugby playing memories on a field that is close to their hearts before the Vodacom Bulls square off against a rampant Jaguares outfit at 15h05.

Among the legends, together with their families, will be Thys Lourens, Richard Bands, Frik du Preez, John Mametsa, Victor Matfield, Moaner van Heerden and Akona Ndungane.

Dinkie Muller, who represented Northern Transvaal in 1970 and 1974, is travelling from the United States to attend the festivities and will take his place in the parade alongside one of the oldest surviving Northern Transvaal players in Willie Esterhuizen. The 89-year-old former flank and wing was born in 1929 and wore the colours of Northern Transvaal in 34 matches (six of those off the bench).

Matfield and Ndungane will also put their management abilities to the test as coach and team manager of the Loftus 200 team that will take on the Hino Valke with the next generation of club players to stamp their mark at Loftus. Kickoff is at 12:30.

Vodacom Bulls head coach, John Mitchell, and his charges will be itching to make it count against a strong Jaguares team that are enjoying their best Vodacom Super Rugby season to date but the men from Pretoria will be spurred on by their home ground advantage and the will to finish their season on a winning note with two matches left.

Rugby in Pretoria would not be the same without the countless loyal supporters of the Vodacom Bulls and as a thank you for their continued support over the decades, all tickets for the match against the Jaguares will be a maximum of R80. Tickets are available online at bulls.ticketpro.co.za or at the stadium ticket office.

The #BullsFamily are encouraged to get to the stadium early to enjoy the celebrations before cheering on their beloved Vodacom Bulls in their match against the Jaguares.