Bulls unveil team for Jaguares clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Bulls coach Pote Human has named his team to face the Jaguares in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
There is just one change in the starting XV with Springbok Cornal Hendricks coming in for Johnny Kotze on the wing.
The 30-year old Hendricks last played in Super Rugby in 2015 while he was with the Cheetahs. He was then was diagnosed with a heart condition and has been sidelined up until joining the Bulls for the 2019 Super Rugby season.
Meanwhile Bok hooker Schalk Brits has been passed fit after pulled up with a calf strain and left the field in the first half of the 40-3 win over the Stormers in Pretoria at the weekend.
“With Johnny unfortunately ruled out due to illness, I had little hesitation in bringing Cornal into the team,” Human said.
“He is a class act and has done very well in the matches he has played for us during the warm-up stages of the season. Travelling to Argentina will not be the easiest trip, but someone like Cornal had to overcome much worse than time zones and rowdy venues. His return to the game continues to inspire and we will feed off the positive energy coming from him for sure.”
Human added Andre Warner and Johan Grobbelaar to the travelling squad to provide cover at scrumhalf and hooker during the trip respectively.
“We had a good start, no doubt. Luckily everyone realises that we need to start all over again this week. The Jaquares will not be happy after losing at home last weekend and will be determined to get their first win. We need to be accurate and focussed. If we are, we will be able to put pressure on them,” Human said.
Captain Lood de Jager said momentum and self-belief will aid their effort.
“We played like we trained and executed our game plan. The fact that it brought the right result was a boost for us. If we keep on doing the important things right, we can be a hard team to beat, we saw that last weekend. So we know what to do when we go to Argentina.”
Team Announcement:
Vodacom Bulls vs Jaguares#JAGvBUL #BullsFamily #Superpowered pic.twitter.com/3AAPDbjlH0
ADVERTISEMENT— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) February 19, 2019
Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jessie Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Lood de Jager (captain), 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Dylan Sage.
Date: Saturday, February 23
Venue: Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires
Kick-off: 18.40 (23.40 SA time; 21.40 GMT)
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO: Santiago Borsani (Argentina)
