Ken Borland

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse may have all but publicly written off his team’s chances against the Stormers in Nelspruit on Friday night, but he will know how awkward he has made life for the Western Cape giants in the past and Stormers coach John Dobson has said he is aware his team could be vulnerable given their weird combination of Springbok stars and talented youngsters as tie-ons.

“As simple as it sounds, I’ve told the players to just be relaxed. You can’t ignore the gulf in depth between the two sides. The Stormers are an unbelievable team and that’s the way things are. We’re not going to get far if we’re banking on miracles,” Stonehouse said this week.

Dobson, as befits someone who has lost to the Pumas before, was cautious.

“We have nine established Springboks in our squad and then a bunch of really talented youngsters and we have to bring them through. It’s really challenging finding the balance between those two groups and the changes we have made have not been voluntary, so it’s up to the Pumas how they interpret those. Of course they’re going to be motivated against us.

“But we’ve had adversity as well with our preparations massively disrupted by the Covid rules. But maybe that adversity is good and last week’s performance against the Lions has made sure we are very grounded. The skipper [Siya Kolisi] I know is very determined and we are going there Full Metal Jacket,” Dobson said.

The Stormers will be particularly wary of Pumas flyhalf Eddie Fouche, who is the provider of much direction for his side, and flank Jeandre Rudolph, a scavenger deluxe as well as being a momentum-giver for the home side.

“I know Jeandre very well, having played against him since U19s, he’s a tough guy and very good on the ground, very skilful. In terms of our loose trio, we are just trying to get better each week and make sure we complement each other. I would like to play a bit more with ball in hand, but the most important thing is just to get game time, the more I play, the better I get,” Kolisi said.

Bulls coach Jake White said on Thursday that he is still nursing his team into full rhythm, but he has still made six changes to the starting line-up for their Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls will field much the same backline that gave the Sharks such a headache in Pretoria a month ago on SuperFan Saturday, with Stedman Gans and Cornal Hendricks reunited in the centres, Travis Ismaiel and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings and Ivan van Zyl starting at scrumhalf. David Kriel starts at fullback after Gio Aplon’s season was ended by a knee injury in last weekend’s loss to the Free State Cheetahs.

Up front, Springbok tighthead prop Marcel van der Merwe is back at full fitness after ankle surgery and will make his return to the Bulls side after his three-and-a-half year stint with Toulon, and highly-rated youngster Elrigh Louw will start at blindside flank with veteran Arno Botha on the bench.

“I would like to see more cohesion, but the guys have not played much together and we have been making changes to the team. I would just like to see more rhythm in attack and defence and the team that gets that right the quickest, that hits their straps first, will create the most problems. So far this competition has been very top-start with lots of mistakes slowing everything down.

“And this is a new group of players, which is also a disadvantage, other teams have had their squads together much longer. But it’s not an excuse and we just need to try as hard as we can to get some rhythm and continuity going. A lot of the changes will come on after halftime and play the back end of the match and the strength of the bench is also very important,” White said on Thursday.

Judging by what happened the last time these two teams met, those watching in their homes are probably most excited by two scintillating backlines going up against each other and Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen was particularly excited by his own backs.

“Cornal and Stedman showed what a good combination they are and I guess the coach wants to see if they can play well again together this weekend. Travis and Kurt-Lee are back as well so we have two very exciting wings and David Kriel has put his hand up very well in the last two games, so I’m sure he will easily fit in at fullback,” Vermeulen said.

Bulls team:  David Kriel, Travis Ismaiel, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Marcel van der Merwe, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Trevor Nyakane, Sintu Manjezi, Arno Botha, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt is realistic enough to know that medical reasons could force him to make numerous changes to his team from week-to-week, but for now he is delighted to name just one change to his starting line-up – especially when that is the return of Sbu Nkosi – for their SuperRugby Unlocked match against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

Nkosi, part of the Springboks 2019 World Cup winning squad, replaces 2007 World Cup winner JP Pietersen on the right wing, having recovered from the sternum injury that has kept him out of the season thus far.

“You never know when Covid is going to strike someone down, so you have to prepare for it and have a good squad. We’ve been fortunate to have a clean slate for six weeks. It’s not inevitable that someone will get it, but there’s a good chance. You accept it could be the case, you be proactive and prepare in advance. And it helps that our juniors have now finished their U21 competition.

“So we have not made too many changes, but it is notable that Sbu is back, he will bring a lot of energy and the experience he gained at the World Cup. We’re very excited to have another World Cup winning Springbok in the team, he comes with lots of credentials and experience, he’s good under the high ball, dangerous on attack, has good feet and can beat the opposition one-on-one,” Everitt said in announcing his team on Thursday.

Three changes on the bench – the return from injury of hooker Kerron van Vuuren and flank Henco Venter, as well as wing Yaw Penxe’s first call-up – would also appear to strengthen the Sharks and Everitt said he has not had to massage their confidence much after the beating they took on their last visit to Loftus Versfeld, a month ago for SuperFan Saturday, when the Bulls beat them 49-28.

“We’re going with a totally different mindset. We took a squad of 30 that day and we wanted to look at combinations and youngsters who had shown progress to measure where they were. But it’s back to business now, we have a settled squad and a much more experienced team, with lessons learnt on that SuperFan day.

“It will certainly be a different ball game, getting one’s rhythm back sometimes takes time and we were unfortunate that after SuperFan Saturday we had a bye with the Green and Gold game, we played the Lions and then we had another bye. It did not help our continuity, but we are smiling because it meant players came back from injury,” Everitt said.

Sharks team: Manie Libbok, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am (c), Marius Louw, Werner Kok, Curwin Bosch, Sanele Nohamba, Sikumbuzo Notshe, Phendulani Buthelezi, James Venter, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit, Dylan Richardson, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Mzamo Majola, John-Hubert Meyer, JJ van der Mescht, Henco Venter, Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Yaw Penxe.

While Morne Steyn says the level of expectation that he can singlehandedly turn around the Bulls is unrealistic, the veteran Springbok flyhalf admits that he relishes being the general and he knows that he certainly won’t be a fringe player in Saturday’s crunch Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld.

The 36-year-old Steyn is the last link to the Bulls’ glory days of 2007-2010 when they won three Super Rugby titles but he cannot turn a rebuilding team into a trophy-winning side on his own. But South Africa’s leading all-time points-scorer in the competition – his tally of 1449 is second only to Dan Carter’s 1708 – believes Jake White’s team is on the verge of something good.

But having stuttered to victory over lowly Griquas and going down to the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in their first two matches this season, the Bulls really need to beat the Sharks, the pacesetters in South African rugby before Covid-19 struck, if they are to convince their fans.

“Especially after the loss to the Cheetahs, this is a big game for us, we need this one. It’s not as if we’ve lost three in a row, but we need to get back on the winning path quickly. It’s going to be difficult against the Sharks, but we had a good game against them four weeks ago and the vibe in the team is good. There are a lot of youngsters but Jake is handling them well and is giving us positive talk the whole time.

“Their kicking game was quite a weapon for the Sharks when we last played, but we handled it quite well. I can’t win matches on my own, but I enjoy being the general and making the tactical calls, and it makes it easier having Springboks like Duane Vermeulen, Ivan van Zyl and Embrose Papier around me. I just need to focus on my kicking game to make sure it’s 100% because Curwin Bosch is also a great kicker of the ball. It’s definitely going to be a battle between the flyhalves and I’m excited, it’s going to be a good day,” Steyn said at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.

The presence of more than a dozen Springboks scattered between the two sides should certainly see Saturday’s game recapture the intensity of the best of Super Rugby local derbies, and Steyn, while obviously sad for them that they won’t be playing in the Rugby Championship this year, said playing rugby domestically could lead to a much-needed revival of the Currie Cup.

“It was a difficult choice for the Springboks not to play, but the great thing, and maybe what the country needs, is for all those big names to be playing in the local competition. It’s going to be lovely to have the Springboks playing and maybe the Currie Cup will get back to what it used to be. It’s a good time to make it bigger, make it what it once was.

“I am a bit heartsore about there being no more Super Rugby, it was a great competition, but I was getting a bit tired of it to be honest, it’s time for something different. Europe is where we must now go, that’s where the money is and it’s just a 10-hour flight, I think the move is better for South African rugby. Now they just have to make sure the Springboks can play together to gel as a team before the British Lions tour,” the former Top 14 winner with Stade Francais said.