CARLING CURRIE CUP: Balanced Vodacom Bulls side ready for Kimberley showdown

The Vodacom Bulls will head to Kimberley, where they will face the Tafel Lager Griquas in a Carling Currie Cup clash, with a loaded team.

The two sides will meet at Tafel Lager Park at 14h30 tomorrow where both sides will be looking to claim bragging rights after weeks of no action in the domestic competition.

Tafel Lager Griquas beat DHL Western Province 22-20 in their last outing at home on February 18, while the Vodacom Bulls went down 25-38 to the Toyota Cheetahs on February 2 – their last bit of action in the Carling Currie Cup.

The Vodacom Bulls have selected a strong side for the encounter which is expected to be a thrilling battle between the two sides.

The Tshwane-based side will see several players who featured in last weekend’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship win over Zebre Parma, in Italy, turning out on Saturday.

Captain, Marcell Coetzee, will spearhead the star-studded team which includes, among others, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cornal Hendricks, Chris Smith, and Embrose Papier in the backline.

In the forwards pack, alongside Coetzee, will be Arno Botha, Walt Steenkamp, Bismarck du Plessis and Simphiwe Matanzima.

Vodacom Bulls Carling Currie Cup head coach, Gert Smal, said ahead of the game: “The Tafel Lager Griquas have shown some good form so far this season and everybody knows how tough of an opponent they always are on the domestic scene. We, therefore, expect an exceptionally tough match against them, especially at their home ground.

“We will have to be at our best if we want to claim a good result. We have a good blend of experience and exciting youth in our squad, and we hope that our preparations over the past few weeks will come together this weekend.”

The match will be televised on SuperSport tomorrow.

 The Vodacom Bulls team to face Tafel Lager Griquas is:

STARTERS (15-1): Kurt-Lee Arendse (Betway Centurion), Canan Moodie (Pretoria), Stedman Gans (Northam Rhinos), Cornal Hendricks (Northam Rhinos), Richard Kriel (Tuine), Chris Smith (Harlequins), Embrose Papier (UP Tuks); Muller Uys (UP Tuks), Arno Botha (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Marcell Coetzee (CAPT, ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Janko Swanepoel (Pretoria), Walt Steenkamp (Tuine), Robert Hunt (Harlequins), Bismarck du Plessis (Betway Centurion), Simphiwe Matanzima (ABE Midas Naka Bulle).

IMPACT (16-23): Schalk Erasmus (Tuine), Lizo Gqoboka (ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Kowie Roos (Pretoria), Reinhardt Ludwig (UP Tuks), WJ Steenkamp (Tuine), Keagan Johannes (UP Tuks), Juan Mostert (Harlequins), Lionel Mapoe (Pretoria).

 

CARLING CURRIE CUP: Vodacom Bulls wary of “giant-killers” from Kimberley

The Vodacom Bulls will be wary of the “giant-killing” Tafel Lager Griquas when the two sides square up in Kimberley for a Carling Currie Cup clash tomorrow afternoon.

Vodacom Bulls head coach, Gert Smal, will announce his match-day squad tomorrow for the 23 who will travel to the Northern Cape with the hope of bouncing back from their defeat to the Toyota Cheetahs a month ago.

Vodacom Bulls assistant coach, Edgar Marutlulle, has in his playing career faced the Tafel Lager Griquas on a few occasions, and is aware of the dangers that could be posed by the side, especially in their own backyard.

“The Tafel Lager Griquas are always a giant-killer side in this competition,” he said ahead of the clash.

“They are a side that is well-known for causing upsets. So that is why preparations this week have been on point – we have not wasted a minute being complaisant in any way. We’ve taken them on as opposition and given them a proper preparation for the game.”

A month of being out of action in a competition can be a long time, but the Vodacom Bulls have kept themselves busy since their fixture against the Toyota Cheetahs on February 2. The side played in a warm-up match against the Leopards, while some of the squad members were on tour with the Vodacom United Rugby Championship side in Italy.

“It’s been a month since our last game. Fortunately, we had a warm-up game last week against the Leopards while some of our guys were on tour with the Vodacom URC,” said Marutlulle.

“Those guys provided some good competition in the Vodacom URC together with the guys who were in the Leopards game. We are on par in our preparations and we expect a good performance on the weekend.”

The match between the two sides will kick off at 14h30 tomorrow.

BLUE BULLS RUGBY UNION CLUB PLAYERS TO FACE INTERNATIONAL OPPOSITION

The Carlton league finalists and Loftus 200 team will have the opportunity to test their mettle against quality international opposition when the Israeli side, the Tel Aviv Heat, will tour South Africa during March 2022 and play three matches against ABE Midas Naka Bulle, Northam Rhinos, and Loftus 200!

According to Mr. Willem Strauss, President of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, this is a great opportunity to reward the best semi-professional players in the Bulls club structures.

BBRU President, Willem Strauss, and
Tel Aviv Heat head coach, Kevin Musikanth.

“Club rugby is a priority of our administration and in which all of our stakeholders, shareholders, Jake White, Edgar Rathbone, and sponsors, etc. have bought into,” said Strauss.

The Tel Aviv Heat competes in the Europe Super Cup Competition and has several South Africans such as Josh Strauss and Nic Groom, among others, playing for them. The team is also coached by a South African, Kevin Musikanth, who led the Ikeys to Varsity Cup glory in 2014.

According to Musikanth: “It’s truly fantastic to be able to be invited by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union to tour and give our talented squad exposure in one of the strongest rugby regions globally. This will be an amazing momentum-builder for our new franchise as we prepare for the upcoming Rugby Europe Super Cup season.

“We cannot wait to play against top clubs and, of course, the opportunity to play against the Loftus 200 team as a tour finale. We are very grateful for this opportunity from the Blue Bulls Rugby Union.”

The teams will contest the Robert Denton Cup in honour of the late Blue Bulls Rugby Union administrator who recently passed away.

The coaching staff for the Loftus 200 team consists of Morné Human (Head Coach: ABE Midas Naka Bulle), Flip de Kock (Northam Rhinos), and Danie “Tokkelos” Coetzee (former Vodacom Bulls and Springbok hooker) who is involved with Tuine Grizzlies Rugby Club.

The itinerary for the Tel Aviv Heat is as follows:

  • 19 March versus Northam Rhinos at Northam
  • 23 March versus ABE Midas Naka Bulle at Naka Bulle
  • 26 March versus Loftus 200 at Loftus Versfeld

According to Dr Eugene Hare, Chief Executive Officer of the BBRU, the 2022 addition of the Carlton League will kick off on 7 May 2022.

“After last season’s thrilling competition, we look forward to another exciting competition this year,” said Hare.

CARLING CURRIE CUP: Bok Gqoboka keen on potential first-ever game in Kimberley

Lizo Gqoboka is one of a few Vodacom Bulls players who have seamlessly juggled focus between the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and Carling Currie Cup over the past few weeks.

If he is part of the Vodacom Bulls team that takes on the Tafel Lager Griquas in a Carling Currie Cup fixture this weekend, it will be the first time in his 10-year career that the 31-year-old Springbok prop gets to play the Northern Cape side in their own backyard in Kimberley.

“It’s going to be my first time playing down there,” said an excited Gqoboka ahead of the Vodacom Bulls’ travel to Kimberley this weekend.

“You know, in my whole career, I’ve never played in Kimberley, for some weird reason. There has always been something that came up whenever I’m about to play there.

“So, if I play this weekend, it will be my first time. For me, it’s exciting. People always talk about how tough it is to play there, and those are the type of games you want to test yourself – in different conditions.”

Despite not having tasted the experience of playing in Kimberley, Gqoboka is familiar with the opposition for the weekend.

The hard-working tighthead prop expects a tough challenge from the side from the Northern Cape.

“The one thing about the Tafel Lager Griquas has always been their physicality, and they always fight right up until the end. We expect exactly that on the weekend,” he said.

“We have seen that their set piece is quite strong. Their scrum has been one of the most dominant in the competition – we are aware of that, and we are excited about the challenge.

“The main thing will be that we will need to front up physically. They have grown as a team in terms of their balance between the set piece and they also play with intensity. Their kicking game is also very good. So, it’s a good challenge.

“You can never play for 60 minutes and think you are done because they fight until the end. We’ve seen them beating the so-called big team down in Kimberley, and also winning away. It speaks to the quality of players that they have and the quality of their coaches. It’s really going to be a good game with lots of excitement.”

Gqoboka is one of the Vodacom Bulls’ frontline players who has inter-changed between the Carling Currie Cup and Vodacom URC effortlessly so far this season, and the Bok front-rower is relishing the opportunity.

“For us at the Vodacom Bulls, it is not that difficult [to juggle between the two competitions]. We have seen guys doubling up – Morne Steyn, Bismarck du Plessis, myself, and others – we play Carling Currie Cup on a Wednesday and Vodacom URC on a Saturday. Because we have one squad everybody gets an opportunity for game time. If you are not playing in the Vodacom URC, you do play in the Carling Currie Cup,” he said.

The match between the Vodacom Bulls and Tafel Lager Griquas will kick off at 14h30 on Saturday, and it will be televised on SuperSport.

Vodacom Bulls’ Carling Currie Cup head coach, Gert Smal, will announce his team for the fixture on Friday.