Ken Borland

The Bulls may be the dominant force in South African rugby at the moment, but they will be fielding an exciting group of juniors in their opening preparation match against Eastern Province in Pretoria on Sunday, with coach Jake White entrusting them with starting new traditions at Loftus Versfeld.

“We will be unveiling our new jersey for the next couple of years and in many ways it goes back to our history, we want to remind the players what a privilege it is to play for the Bulls. A lot of work and design has gone into the jersey, and even the pants and socks are helluva important. I hope this team appreciates that the first time we wear this jersey we have given it to the next generation.

“These may just be friendlies, it’s not a competition, but it’s still Eastern Province versus Northern Transvaal and there’s a lot of culture that goes with that. I remember guys like Schalk Burger, George Rautenbach, Frans Erasmus and Danie Gerber playing for EP, so they have an unbelievably strong history and they want to revive that brand which is important for South African rugby,” White said on Friday.

So who are the exciting Bulls players to look out for on Sunday?

Janko Swanepoel

The two-metre SA U20 lock from 2019 hails from Durbanville and is an impressive athlete.

“Janko is an U21 Currie Cup winner and probably good enough to play four and five. He’s tall, really good in the lineouts and athletic, and I’m keen to see his combination with Jan Uys, who is a solid four,” White said.

Stravino Jacobs

Jacobs is a Paarl Gim product and an example of someone really taking their opportunities, the leading try-scorer in last year’s triumphant U21 campaign burst into the limelight in the latter stages of the Bulls senior team’s Currie Cup march.

“He’s certainly got something, he’s just turned 21 and there are exciting times ahead for him. I’m really looking forward to seeing him grow as a player, he’s gone from 108kg to 94kg since he’s been with us and has really put the effort in. Stravino is one of the guys I’m really excited about, from not being in the team he’s now the first name we put down at wing and he can become really important for the way we want to play as the Bulls,” White said.

WJ Steenkamp

The Grey College old boy began his Bulls career on the flank, but will play eighthman on Sunday.

“WJ is incredibly quick and will bring something different, I see him as an eighthman at the moment. I don’t see Tim Agaba as a No.8, I see him as a tall No.7, while Nizaam Carr has unbelievable skills and can play six, seven and eight. But I would like to see him as an openside flank, that way he could offer our first-choice team so much on the bench, it would mean he would be in every 23. Without Marco van Staden [Leicester-bound] we need some back-up,” White said.

Bulls team: David Kriel, Madosh Tambwe, Marnus Potgieter, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, WJ Steenkamp, Tim Agaba, Nizaam Carr (c), Janko Swanepoel, Jan Uys, Mornay Smith, Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench – Janco Uys, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard van der Merwe, Raynard Roets, Uzile Tele, Keagan Johannes, Jandre Burger, Diego Appollis, Reinhardt Ludwig, Werner Gouws, Dawid Kellerman.

Exciting prospect Raynard van Tonder was the only batsman to hit the high notes, but his wonderful 81 not out off 57 balls was in vain as his Knights team still went down by 14 runs to the Warriors in their T20 Challenge game at Kingsmead on Thursday.

The result has an important effect on the playoff situation as it means the Titans now have to beat the Dolphins on Friday to progress. If the Titans lose, then the Cape Cobras will qualify if they beat the Imperial Lions with a bonus point.

But the Warriors are in third place with a one-point lead at the moment, while the Knights have been eliminated.

The Knights were chasing 158 for victory but started their innings on a disastrous note as Patrick Kruger was run out by Jon-Jon Smuts without facing a ball.

That brought Van Tonder to the crease and the 22-year-old showed he is improving with every outing as he stroked six fours and three sixes.

But he had little support of note, dominating partnerships of 52 off 41 balls with Matthew Kleinveldt (12) and 40 off 26 deliveries with Shaun von Berg (16).

No-one else reached double figures as the Knights were bowled out for 143.

Seamer Mthiwekhaya Nabe once again shone for the Warriors with an excellent return of three for 19, while there were also fine performances with the ball by fellow pacemen Anrich Nortje (2-17) and Marco Jansen (2-30).

The Warriors were sent in to bat and freeflowing strokeplay by Smuts (33 off 21) and Gihahn Cloete (22 off 20) saw them tear to 53 without loss in the powerplay.

But leg-spinner Von Berg dismissed both of them in the seventh over and thereafter the Warriors relied on Lesiba Ngoepe, who has had a sorry tournament thus far, to take them to a matchwinning total, the left-hander belting 41 off 30 balls to take them to 157 for eight.

Left-arm quick Mbulelo Budaza was bang on target with his cutters and slower balls as he took three for 18 in his four overs and spinners Von Berg (4-0-27-2) and Kleinveldt (3-0-17-2) kept the pressure on the batsmen.

Dolphins spin twins Keshav Maharaj and Prenelan Subrayen destroyed the Imperial Lions, bowling them out for just 110 and clinching a bonus point win that will assure the KZN team of first place on the log and an automatic place in Sunday’s final.

The Lions were chasing 152 for victory, a challenging target on a pitch that was getting slower and slower. But they would never have expected to gift the Dolphins a crucial bonus point and a place in the final as they were bowled out in the last over.

The Lions can only draw level with the Dolphins on the log if they beat the Cape Cobras with a bonus point on Friday, and then the result between the two teams takes preference over run-rate.

Spinners Maharaj and Subrayen opened the bowling and immediately exerted pressure. They returned in the middle overs and had combined figures of four for 28 in their eight overs. Orthodox left-armer Maharaj only conceded 10 runs in his four overs and off-spinner Subrayen took three for 18.

Rassie van der Dussen was the only batsman to briefly break free from the stranglehold, scoring 33 off 29 balls before holing out to a Subrayen delivery that held up in the pitch and turned.

Kagiso Rabada (15) and Aaron Phangiso (16) hit the ball cleanly as they tried to prevent the Dolphins getting the bonus point in a ninth-wicket stand of 27, the biggest partnership of the innings, but they fell 11 runs short.

Seamers Robbie Frylinck and Ottneil Baartman provided excellent support to the spinners as they both took two for 26.

The Lions bowlers were able to continue their impressive form in the competition, restricting the Dolphins to 91 for four in the 15th over, with opener Keegan Petersen scoring a run-a-ball 35.

But the evergreen David Miller was still at the crease and he batted through to the end, belting 56 not out off just 38 balls with some great death batting that took the Dolphins to 151 for four.

Mangaliso Mosehle (18*) shared a vital unbroken partnership of 60 off 37 deliveries with the Proteas star, who showed again that he is one of the best T20 batsmen in the country.

Fast bowlers Rabada (4-0-25-1) and Beuran Hendricks (4-0-22-0) were the best of the Lions bowlers.

Detail for the log

The Dolphins have automatically qualified for the final on Sunday.

The teams that finish second and third on the log will play each other in the playoff on Saturday to decide who the Dolphins’ opposition will be.

If the Titans beat the Dolphins on Friday they will qualify for the playoff. But if they lose, then the Cape Cobras can qualify, depending on the outcome of Thursday’s match between the Knights and Warriors, if they win with a bonus point against the Lions, who are guaranteed second place.

A superb middle-order effort by the Warriors took them from 33 for four to 157 for nine which proved to be enough to beat the much-touted Titans with a bonus point in a shock T20 Challenge result at Kingsmead on Wednesday.

The match appeared to be proceeding according to script for the Titans as they had the Warriors four down after seven overs, Lizaad Williams taking two of the wickets.

But Wihan Lubbe counter-attacked, hitting ace spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three successive boundaries as he scored 35 off 29 balls to shift the momentum.

The 20-year-old Tristan Stubbs then hammered a pugnacious 44 off 31 balls and Aya Gqamane then punished the Titans bowling at the death in a superb 37 off just 17 deliveries.

Chris Morris was again the most economical Titans bowler, taking two for 26 in his four overs, but everyone else conceded expensive overs which proved crucial as the Titans let things slip when they were in a commanding position.

The Titans have a similarly talented batting line-up but they have failed to really fire in this tournament and they were very disappointing again on Wednesday, limping to 114 for nine.

The Warriors began with spin from both ends and it would have a major impact as both JJ Smuts and Wihan Lubbe took wickets to reduce the Titans to 36 for two inside the first seven overs.

But Aiden Markram scored 31 off 28 balls to take them to 63 for two at the halfway stage, allowing them to have a real push for victory.

But instead the Titans just collapsed in a heap with Mthiwekhaya Nabe ripping through the middle-order in brilliant fashion with four for 21.

Pacemen Marco Jansen (4-0-21-2) and Anrich Nortje (4-0-20-1) were also outstanding.

The Warriors, despite losing their first three matches, have given themselves a chance of making the playoffs, should they beat the Knights on Thursday and the Titans suffer a third successive loss when they play the Dolphins on Friday.