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Cape Town - The Blue Bulls have two clear goals in mind when they head to the Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit to face the Pumas in a Currie Cup encounter.
The Bulls unexpectedly came unstuck by 22-21 there last year, and are on a mission to avenge that shock defeat.
But that won't be the only motivation for Pine Pienaar's charges come 17:00 on Friday afternoon. The men from Pretoria are currently bottom of the Currie Cup log - an unacceptable position for a team that has set the benchmark in South African rugby for the best part of a decade.
Therefore, the Bulls have made it their aim to not only avenge their embarrassing defeat of last season, but also to rise from their current position of basement dwellers.
"We certainly won't forget that one (last year's loss to the Pumas), but an even more important driving force will be our position on the log. A team like us, cannot be bottom of the log," Pienaar told the Beeld newspaper.
The Bulls mentor is nevertheless confident that he knows the Pumas' blueprint and prepared his players accordingly.
"The Pumas get good momentum with their forwards which they use effectively. If you give them time and space, you will struggle against them.
"They also never give up, so you have to play for 80 minutes," said Pienaar.
Teams
Pumas:
15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Tian Meyer, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Ricardo Croy, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Doppies le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Eduan van der Walt, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Rudi Mathee, 19 RW Kember, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Tiaan Marx, 22 Johan Jackson
Blue Bulls:
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Dewald Potgieter (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Francois Venter
The Bulls unexpectedly came unstuck by 22-21 there last year, and are on a mission to avenge that shock defeat.
But that won't be the only motivation for Pine Pienaar's charges come 17:00 on Friday afternoon. The men from Pretoria are currently bottom of the Currie Cup log - an unacceptable position for a team that has set the benchmark in South African rugby for the best part of a decade.
Therefore, the Bulls have made it their aim to not only avenge their embarrassing defeat of last season, but also to rise from their current position of basement dwellers.
"We certainly won't forget that one (last year's loss to the Pumas), but an even more important driving force will be our position on the log. A team like us, cannot be bottom of the log," Pienaar told the Beeld newspaper.
The Bulls mentor is nevertheless confident that he knows the Pumas' blueprint and prepared his players accordingly.
"The Pumas get good momentum with their forwards which they use effectively. If you give them time and space, you will struggle against them.
"They also never give up, so you have to play for 80 minutes," said Pienaar.
Teams
Pumas:
15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Tian Meyer, 11 MJ Mentz, 10 Ricardo Croy, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Doppies le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Eduan van der Walt, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Rudi Mathee, 19 RW Kember, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Tiaan Marx, 22 Johan Jackson
Blue Bulls:
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Dewald Potgieter (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Rossouw de Klerk, 18 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Dustin Jinka, 21 Louis Fouche, 22 Francois Venter
