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Cape Town - Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar believes he made the right call to drop his hooker and captain Gary Botha for Chiliboy Ralepelle.
Pienaar on Wednesday named seven of his eight returning Springboks in the team to face the Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
The most contentious of those selections was the coach's decision to drop captain Botha to the bench. Flanker Dewald Potgieter will now captain the side, while Ralepelle will start in the No 2 jersey.
But Pienaar firmly believes he made the right call to pick Ralepelle - who was one of the few decent performers on the Springboks' recent tour of Australasia.
"Chili is currently playing brilliant rugby and performed exceptionally well for the Springboks in both Tests (against Australia and New Zealand)," Pienaar told the Beeld newspaper.
Pienaar says he's also satisfied with Botha's form, but feels that Ralepelle has a good chance of making the Boks' World Cup squad and thus wants to give him the opportunity to impress the Bok selectors.
The coach is also confident that his new captain, Potgieter, will be up to the task of leading the team.
"Dewald is a strong leader and someone who can inspire the players around him, so I have no doubt that he will be up to the task."
Teams
Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Dustin Jinka, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Dewald Potgieter (captain), 6 Derick Kuun, 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 Fudge Mabeta, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Marntiz Boshoff, 22 Stephan Dippenaar
Golden Lions: 15 Michael Killian, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Lionel Mapoe, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (capt.), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Patric Cilliers, 18 Michael Rhodes, 19 Warren Whiteley, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Burton Francs, 22 Jaco Taute
Pienaar on Wednesday named seven of his eight returning Springboks in the team to face the Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
The most contentious of those selections was the coach's decision to drop captain Botha to the bench. Flanker Dewald Potgieter will now captain the side, while Ralepelle will start in the No 2 jersey.
But Pienaar firmly believes he made the right call to pick Ralepelle - who was one of the few decent performers on the Springboks' recent tour of Australasia.
"Chili is currently playing brilliant rugby and performed exceptionally well for the Springboks in both Tests (against Australia and New Zealand)," Pienaar told the Beeld newspaper.
Pienaar says he's also satisfied with Botha's form, but feels that Ralepelle has a good chance of making the Boks' World Cup squad and thus wants to give him the opportunity to impress the Bok selectors.
The coach is also confident that his new captain, Potgieter, will be up to the task of leading the team.
"Dewald is a strong leader and someone who can inspire the players around him, so I have no doubt that he will be up to the task."
Teams
Blue Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Dustin Jinka, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Dewald Potgieter (captain), 6 Derick Kuun, 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 Fudge Mabeta, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Marntiz Boshoff, 22 Stephan Dippenaar
Golden Lions: 15 Michael Killian, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Lionel Mapoe, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (capt.), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Patric Cilliers, 18 Michael Rhodes, 19 Warren Whiteley, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Burton Francs, 22 Jaco Taute
