Du Preez back at the helm for Bulls
Tue, 06 May 2008 14:14
Fourie du Preez is back as captain of the Vodacom Bulls for Friday's Super 14 clash with the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld.
Du Preez's hand has recovered fully and as a result of his inclusion in the starting XV the young promising Francois Hougaard will be one of two backline reserves on the bench.
Coach Frans Ludeke opted for Morné Steyn to wear the No.10 against the Brumbies which means that Wynand Olivier will again play in the midfield alongside JP Nel.
Derick Hougaard got an abscess in his gluteus muscle over the weekend and it got septic through the course of the last two days and that opened the door for the Vodacom Cup flyhalf Burton Francis to be on the bench for the match against the Brumbies.
Francis is still a junior who played a major role in the success of the Vodacom Team.
There were some concerns that Nel, who injured his hand against the Waratahs, will not be able to play, but he as well as Bryan Habana (ankle) and Pierre Spies (shoulder) got the green light from the medical team.
Ludeke said at the weekly press conference at Loftus on Tuesday that he is expecting a tough onslaught from the Brumbies especially for the reason that they are playing for a spot in the play-offs.
"The Brumbies are very proud team and they like to keep the ball in hand," said Ludeke.
"Continuity is the key to their game and they are able to keep the ball through a number of phases but they started to kick more in the last two seasons," added the coach.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez (captain), 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Jaco Engels, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20
Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.
Date: Friday, May 9
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Gabriel Pappas (South Africa)
