Stormers' 'Old friend' on Bulls bench for quarters

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Bulls have made minor adjustments to the matchday 23 that will do duty against the Stormers in Cape Town.

The two fierce competitors will meet in the 2022/23 United Rugby Championship quarterfinal clash on Saturday, May 6 at the Cape Town Stadium.

The starting XV remains unchanged from the side that took down Leinster in the final round-robin of the competition.

The only changes are on the impact squad with Simphiwe Matanzima and Nizaam Carr.

The forwards’ pack remains unchanged as Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith will line up in the front row with the support of Ruan Vermaak and captain, Ruan Nortje providing cover in the second row.

Marco van Staden, Cyle Brink and Elrigh Louw will add power in the back row as the pack looks to make good use of their game time together.

At the back, Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen start as the half-back pairing with Canan Moodie (right)
and David Kriel (left) on the wings.

Harold Vorster and Stedman Gans will combine at centre with Kurt-Lee Arendse at fullback.

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Johan Goosen 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Lionel Mapoe.

Date: Saturday, May 6
Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

#⃣ICYMI Was this just oversight by the @BlueBullsRugby or did they take a chance and came up short⁉️#Rugby 🏉#RugbyUnion🌍@URCOfficial 🏆
🔗https://t.co/6fPmLVPrqQ

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) May 5, 2023