Share

Fierce WP-Bulls derby in store

Cape Town - Western Province and the Blue Bulls may have had contrasting fortunes in their most recent outings, but both will be driven by traditional fierce rivalry in their second-round Currie Cup clash at Newlands on Saturday.

Western Province ran in a bonus-point win over the EP Kings last week while the Bulls were thrashed by neighbours Golden Lions.

Province coach Allister Coetzee believed the Bulls would not be deterred by last week's defeat and their desire to win would make them "dangerous" opponents on Saturday.

"It will be a dangerous Bulls side that will be coming to Cape Town," he said.

"They took a bit of a hammering last week but they have shown confidence in their team and have named virtually the same side for Newlands.

"It is a North-South derby and they'll play with lots of pride. What happened last week counts for nothing, both for us and the Bulls."

Coetzee said his side had heeded the lessons of recent encounters against the Bulls.

"Our biggest mistakes have been weak set-piece performances and poor exiting from our half.

"Those are the two areas we need to master so that we don't allow the Bulls into the game, especially if we make a good start.

"We know from experience that once you have the Bulls on the ropes you have to cash in. You do that by putting in an 80-minute performance and stringing two halves together."

Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke believed his players would draw inspiration from a virtually unchanged team this week.

"We will definitely be stronger when we play against Province," said Ludeke. "It was a great test (against EP) and we came second but we took a lot from it.

"By keeping changes to a minimum, it shows just how much you believe in the system, each other and yourself and your ability."

He felt his team's poor scrum performance was the biggest factor in last week's dismal showing.

"We had a look at it and that is where we let ourselves down. We looked like an average scrum," said Ludeke.

"We worked on a few things again. We looked at where we can get those small yards this weekend. We have a good plan, and we've had good preparation."

One area of the game in which the Bulls held the upper hand was in the kicking department. Jurgen Visser, at fullback, and Jacques-Louis Potgieter, the flyhalf, were capable of landing prodigious touch finders.

They were excellent tactical kickers and, in recent years, their talents were groomed by kicking coach Vlokkie Cilliers who had since joined Western Province just over a month ago.

Cilliers' input would be valuable for planning a strategy to counter the Bulls' tactical kicking onslaught, given the lack of height in the Province back three.

On the back of last week's performances, Province could enjoy the edge at set-piece time and that suggests that they would look to underscore their attacking intentions from first-phase possession.

Teams:

Western Province:

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Alistair Vermaak

Substitutes: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ruan Botha, 19 Rynhardt Elstadt, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Jaco Taute

Blue Bulls:

15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann (captain), 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Marcel van der Merwe

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Hencus Van Wyk, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht, 20 Rudy Paige, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Jesse Kriel

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE