Cape Town – Bulls coach Jake White has brought in the experienced Cornal Hendricks to mark Springbok superstar Makazole Mapimpi in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld (5.05pm kickoff).
White made three changes to his starting XV on Friday, with Hendricks replacing youngster Canan Moodie at right wing, David Kriel coming in for Kurt-Lee Arendse at fullback and Gerhard Steenekamp slotting in at loosehead prop for Simphiwe Matanzima.
While Moodie caught the eye with his speed over the past few weeks, White has opted for Hendricks to handle the red-hot Mapimpi, who was chosen as January’s Player of the Month.
Hendricks is an inside centre these days, but made his name at Test level at right wing, where he scored five tries in 12 matches between 2014 and 2015, before a heart issue sidelined him for a few years.
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Now 33, the man from Wellington has developed into a hard-running No 12, but still possesses that devastating sidestep that made him a top-class wing in the past.
He will have his hands full, though, in keeping a close eye on the wily Mapimpi, who is able to sniff out try-scoring opportunities from nothing.
Kriel hasn’t been in the best of form over the last few months, which saw White move the exciting sevens star Arendse from wing to fullback.
But the former Blitzbok speedster hasn’t quite established himself at No 15 in recent weeks, although White felt that he had a good game against the Lions last week.
The coach also explained that “Kurt-Lee has got a little bit of a bang to his shoulder”, so Kriel will look to handle the expected kicking barrage from the Sharks on Saturday.
Steenekamp was the first-choice loosehead prop last season, but the return from injury of Matanzima and Lizo Gqoboka has seen him have limited game-time over the last few months.
With tighthead partner Mornay Smith still out injured, Steenekamp will hope to provide some solidity in the scrums, where he will be up against giant Sharks No 3 Thomas du Toit.
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Here is your Vodacom Bulls team to take on the Cell C Sharks tomorrow at Loftus, in what promises to be an absolute humdinger! 💥
Who ya got? 👇 #TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/J2iDi5YWtx
Bulls Team
15 David Kriel 14 Cornal Hendricks 13 Lionel Mapoe 12 Harold Vorster 11 Madosh Tambwe 10 Morné Steyn 9 Zak Burger 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 5 Ruan Nortje 4 Walt Steenkamp 3 Jacques van Rooyen 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Bismarck du Plessis 17 Simphiwe Matanzima 18 Robert Hunt 19 Janko Swanepoel 20 Muller Uys 21 Embrose Papier 22 Chris Smith 23 Canan Moodie.