Ken Borland

Embrose Papier and Jade Stighling have been brought into the Bulls team to counter the pace of the Free State Cheetahs in Friday night’s Super Rugby Unlocked match in Bloemfontein, with Duane Vermeulen returning and Clinton Swart called up for his debut in an effort to negate the battering ram play of Francois Steyn at inside centre.

Johan Grobbelaar, starting at hooker, is the other player brought into the starting line-up which was announced on Wednesday afternoon. Coach Jake White has also shifted Cornal Hendricks from inside to outside centre and shuffled his bench with U21 star Joe van Zyl called up to cover hooker, Gerhard Steenekamp replacing injured loosehead prop Lizo Gqoboka, and Nizaam Carr coming in as the replacement loose forward instead of Elrigh Louw.

Here’s why the changes fit in specifically with the Cheetahs in mind:

Jade Stighling – White called winger Stighling “one of the quickest players in the squad” and his selection in the number 11 jersey, with the lanky and elusive David Kriel moving to right wing and Travis Ismaiel left out, is aimed to counter the Cheetahs getting too much space and time out wide.

“The Cheetahs make quite a few line-breaks and Jade has massive pace, he’s one of the quickest players in the squad. But they also concede quite a lot of line-breaks, so if we can make some then we will have the pace to get up in support and create a few nice opportunities,” White said.

Embrose Papier – While White has committed himself to rotating his two Springbok scrumhalves, he admitted Papier’s game is better suited to the pace and expansiveness of the Cheetahs.

“I always said Embrose would get game time, it’s not like he’s our No.2 scrumhalf, and he’s also one of our quickest players, which comes back to those line-breaks the Cheetahs both make and concede. I’m looking forward to seeing how he combines with that backline and Free State rely on lots of pace, so we need to see if we can counter that,” White said.

Duane Vermeulen – The looming figure of the Springbok eighthman and colossus is likely to spend plenty of time in the inside centre channel to make sure Francois Steyn’s forays end before the gain-line. Captain Vermeulen, for his part, said the swelling on his knee has gone down and he is looking forward to ensuring that the Bulls execute their plans better than they did last weekend against Griquas.

Clinton Swart – The 1.84m, 105kg Swart played under White at Toyota Verblitz and may not be a flashy centre in the mould of Cornal Hendricks, but he is very direct and ideally suited to countering the sort of game Steyn plays. He also has a very handy boot and there’s little doubt one of White’s major tactics against the Cheetahs will be to pin them in their own half and make them run from deep and he now has three accomplished kickers in Morne Steyn, Gio Aplon and Swart to achieve this.

“I know what Frans Steyn can offer and if you give him lots of gain-line then the Cheetahs will play around him, so his presence was a big influence in our selection. Clinton came from Free State so he knows them well. We’re not going to be able to get away with playing Hendricks and Gans in midfield every week and I would also like to see Cornal at outside centre – that might also be a stroke of genius and he has been running well with Clinton,” White said.

Nizaam Carr – While Elrigh Louw enjoyed himself with hall-in-hand when he came off the bench against Griquas, that role can now be fulfilled by Vermeulen. Against a team as pacy as the Cheetahs, the Bulls are going to need a more openside type flank and Carr fits the bill perfectly to come off the bench and lift the tempo.

Bulls team: Gio Aplon, David Kriel, Cornal Hendricks, Clinton Swart, Jade Stighling, Morné Steyn, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (C), Arno Botha, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements – Joe van Zyl, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Nizaam Carr, Ivan van Zyl, Chris Smith, Stedman Gans.

Coming to Loftus Versfeld is normally a daunting experience for Stormers teams, but captain Siya Kolisi said the build-up to their SuperFan Saturday match in Pretoria was more like a throwabout in the park. Until the actual rugby started, of course.

Rugby returned in South Africa after six months, with the Stormers beating the Lions and the Bulls thumping the Sharks behind closed doors at Loftus Versfeld. No spectators meant little atmosphere, but the players made up for it, not only through their obvious enthusiasm to be back playing again, but also in surprisingly good skill levels after all that time without contact.

The Bulls were especially impressive, running in seven tries in a dazzling 49-28 win over the Sharks, while the Stormers’ powerful first-choice pack set up a 34-21 win over the Lions, whose young second-stringers actually pulled the three-time Super Rugby finalists back into contention.

“I actually told the guys during the warm-up before the game started that it doesn’t feel like we are at Loftus, but it rather felt like just another training exercise until the actual match started. Previously playing at Loftus for the Stormers there was always interaction and chats with the fans, which added to the atmosphere, but this time there was no real banter there.

“Even sitting on the bench one could feel there is no crowd noise and it showed us we should never take anything for granted. It showed us once again how special our supporters are and how much we miss them, but it was also good to start playing again after being out of the game for six months, which wasn’t easy,” Kolisi, who finished clinically for a try while standing on the wing, said.

Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen said the lack of spectators meant he had to generate his own ardour, but the Springbok eighthman was soon back in business smashing opposition ball-carriers away from the gain-line.

“We wanted to just focus on what we have to do, but it was certainly a different feeling walking out on to Loftus and not hearing any noise. You would have heard a penny drop if someone had actually been there to drop one. The atmosphere is what charges you up, it gives you more energy, so it is so much nicer to play with a crowd.

“The one thing is you can actually hear the coaches shouting from the box so you know exactly where to go and what to do … ”, a smiling Vermeulen said.

Before both games, SA Rugby broadcast a statement recommitting themselves to their Rugby Against Discrimination And Racism campaign they launched last July in collaboration with the South African Human Rights Commission, stating they are “committed to an environment where all are welcome, irrespective of race, colour, creed or gender.”

The Sharks took to the field before the start of their game wearing T-Shirts that said “We say not to racism” and some Lions players took a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter before their match.

Many of the players who locked horns at the weekend will now be team-mates this coming weekend as two Springbok ‘trials’ teams, Green and Gold, will clash in a farewell game for the famous old Newlands stadium in Cape Town.

The more exotic skills of Sikhumbuzo Notshe will be up against the more physical, direct talents of Duane Vermeulen in SuperFan Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, and the Sharks eighthman is looking forward to taking on a man he considers his role-model.

Notshe, born in King Williams Town, came through the youth ranks at Western Province and spent three seasons from 2013-2015 playing with Vermeulen at the Stormers before the Springbok hero left for France. The Bulls v Sharks match on Saturday is going to be a real clash of styles, and the personal battle at eighthman exemplifies that.

“You always want to play against the very best and I will approach Saturday as just another challenge. But when I joined the Stormers, I learnt so much from Duane in terms of jumping and mauling. I’m coming up against my role-model, he taught me the ropes in professional rugby, so I look forward to that. But the most important thing is to worry about my team first and not my individual performance,” Notshe said.

“We need to focus on our game-plan and on ourselves, we want to play the Sharks brand of rugby, with urgency and speed. We are a team that strives for performance and we don’t worry about results as much. If we perform well then we will get the result regardless. We just want to play to the best of our abilities and tick our boxes, and we’re excited about this weekend.”

New Sharks coach Sean Everitt’s approach has been less woes than predecessor Robert du Preez and his young team responded superbly, Notshe being one of several talents to bloom as they soared to the top of the overall Super Rugby table with six wins in seven matches before Covid-19 ended the season. The team culture has been outstanding, with Everitt focusing on transformation and diversity, and his ‘pets’ had built up tremendous momentum when their campaign was cruelly cut short in mid-March.

Will the Sharks be able to pick up that momentum on Saturday?

“We can’t promise that and obviously it was really frustrating to have the season end when it did. But we can’t stay in the past, it’s now a clean slate and all the other provinces have loaded up with some players, we are aware of that. We need to live in the present, it’s a fresh start because the last time we played was six months ago and we’ve also got some new players and lost a couple too.

“But we won’t change our identity as Sharks, it’s exciting that we can take the learnings from the seven rounds of Super Rugby we played and we have things to work on like working harder off the ball and polishing our basics, like catching and passing. We want to sharpen up our game and be urgent – if there’s a loose ball then a Sharks jersey must be on to it,” Notshe said.

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday recalled openside flank Francois Louw and chose the uncapped duo of eighthman Duane Vermeulen and flyhalf Johan Goosen to open the possibility of a significant change in approach for the Springboks’ two Rugby Championship matches in Australia and New Zealand.

South Africa opened their Rugby Championship campaign against debutants Argentina, beating them 27-6 in Cape Town but without a try-scoring bonus point, before being held to a shock 16-16 draw in Mendoza last weekend.

Amidst massive criticism of the game plan the Springboks have employed so far this year, Meyer suggested some willingness to change on Wednesday when he gave first call-ups to Vermeulen and Goosen.

The 26-year-old Vermeulen has been a star for the Stormers with his powerhouse displays from the back of the scrum, but several injuries have prevented him from being chosen earlier for the Springboks.

The 20-year-old Goosen sprung to prominence in last year’s IRB Junior World Championship before making a prolific SuperRugby debut for the Cheetahs this year, until a serious shoulder injury ruled him out of action from the beginning of May until last weekend.

“Injuries meant we could not use Duane and Johan earlier in the season, but both have played Currie Cup rugby since their return and, after consultation with their respective provincial medical teams, we’re confident that they are ready to travel with us. While Duane and Johan are medically fit, their provincial coaches felt it necessary that they get more game time in the Currie Cup this weekend, but as we don’t have a lot of time to prepare and we need as much time with them as possible to get them used to our structures and game plans, the decision was taken to select them for the tour,” Meyer said in a statement released by the South African Rugby Union on Wednesday.

“I regard both of them as world-class rugby players. If it wasn’t for injuries, Duane would have been a Springbok long ago. I also believe Johan has a long career ahead of him at test match level and we will expose him when and how we feel it will benefit the player and the team best.”

The lack of a specialist fetcher in the Springbok squad had also been criticised, with Louw getting a summons from Meyer despite the fact that he now plays his rugby in England for Bath. A raft of injuries in South Africa’s loose forward stocks have also complicated matters, with veterans Schalk Burger and Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussow and new Stormers sensation Siya Kolisi all ruled out at the moment, while Ryan Kankowski is currently playing rugby in Japan.

“We were very keen to give Siya Kolisi an opportunity on this tour, but he is also out injured. Francois played at the Rugby World Cup last year and is an experienced player.  We opted for Francois because he is a specialist openside flanker, in the absence of Schalk, Heinrich and Siya, that can cover blindside and number eight as well, while he is also a very useful option in the lineout,” Meyer said.

South Africa’s young squad – 20 of the 28 are under 28 years old – will have to learn quickly from their mistakes in Argentina, where their dependence on physical dominance failed as the Pumas matched them in the collisions.

The inclusion of Goosen, who has a prodigious boot but can also spark a backline, and recalled World Cup centre Juan de Jongh suggests Meyer has heard the call for more creative play from his team.

Loose forward Keegan Daniel, who Meyer had suggested would see action against Australia, and utility back JJ Engelbrecht are the players omitted from the squad that went to Argentina.

Squad – Zane Kirchner, Pat Lambie, Bryan Habana, Lwazi Mvovo, Jean de Villiers, Francois Steyn, Juan de Jongh, Morne Steyn, Johan Goosen, Ruan Pienaar, Francois Hougaard, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Marcell Coetzee, Francois Louw, Jacques Potgieter, Juandre Kruger, Eben Etzebeth, Flip van der Merwe, Andries Bekker, Pat Cilliers, Tendai Mtawarira, Jannie du Plessis, Dean Greyling, Adriaan Strauss, Tiaan Liebenberg, Craig Burden.