Bulls bench Matfield

Pretoria – Bulls coach Frans Ludeke will look at his next generation Bulls players to deliver the goods in the  Super Rugby season after he named a youthful looking side to face the Cell C Sharks in the season’s opener in Durban on Saturday.
Regular captain Pierre Spies will lead a team on the field with a number of players on debut and a number of others with only a handful of caps, but will also have the luxury of Victor Matfield on the bench.

Matfield will join former Sharks AJ Venter and John Smit in becoming the most capped South African Super Rugby players and will play in his 125th match at this level. Flank Deon Stegmann (groin) failed a fitness test yesterday and was not considered, which will give Jono Ross a starting opportunity in the No 6 jersey. His fellow flank, Jacques du Plessis, will play in the No 7 jersey for the first time after an appearance at lock in his Super Rugby debut in 2013.

Springbok scrumhalf Piet van Zyl, who joined from the Cheetahs, will play off the bench, as will Jacques Engelbrecht, who joined from the Kings.

Ludeke was confident that he picked the right combinations for the opening match.
“We have identified certain areas where we will have to dominate and I think we have the right combinations in place to achieve that. This is going to be a typical South African derby with a lot of focus on the breakdown and to dominate the advantage line,” he predicted.

“We respect the Sharks, but if we are accurate and play our rugby in the right areas of the field, we should get some reward for that. Our focus will be to execute and to make sure that we protect our ball, as the Sharks will be keen to counter whenever we turn over possession.”

On Matfield’s inclusion, Ludeke said: “We all know what Victor is capable of. He showed in training and our friendly match that he is still right up there amongst the best and I am confident that he will make a telling contribution when called upon.”

Bulls captain Pierre Spies said his side does not mind the ‘underdog’ status in Durban.
“The Sharks should be one of the pre-tournament favourites. They have a lot of Springboks in their team, have loads of experience in the decision-making positions and will be playing in front of a very passionate crowd”. – Sport24.