Vermeulen to lead Vodacom Bulls against Brumbies

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Duane Vermeulen will lead the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday.

Regular captain, Handré Pollard will miss this clash due to a calf strain picked up in training earlier this week, and will be returning to South Africa. His place in the number 10 jersey will be taken by Manie Libbok, with Vermeulen taking over as captain.

Human called JT Jackson onto the bench in place of the promoted Libbok. The rest of the match day squad that played against the Rebels last week, remain unchanged.

Human said Libbok, who started for the Vodacom Bulls against the Jaquares earlier in the season, has big shoes to fill, but certainly has the ability and skills to help the team achieve a second win on tour.

“He would not be around if he was not good enough, that is for sure. Handré is probably the leading 10 in the world at the moment, so to take over from him is not easy, but Manie has done well for us when he took to the field this year and I have the utmost confidence in him this weekend. He is an exciting young talent and we are looking forward to watching him grow.”

For Vermeulen, the defensive effort that the squad showed last week, must be repeated.

“We defended very well when under severe pressure and the Brumbies are going to test us the same way. They are so skilled and determined, we cannot let our guard down or we will pay the price,” he said

Kick-off is at 11h45 SA time.

 

The team (with caps and points) is:

  1. Warrick Gelant (42, 70)
  2. Cornal Hendricks (36, 60)
  3. Johnny Kotze (42, 45)
  4. Burger Odendaal (52, 30)
  5. Rosko Specman (9, 25)
  6. Manie Libbok (14, 33)
  7. André Warner (16, 15)
  8. Duane Vermeulen (captain; 120, 50)
  9. Hanro Liebenberg (39, 20)
  10. Paul Schoeman (30, 35)
  11. RG Snyman (44, 10)
  12. Jason Jenkins (48, 35)
  13. Trevor Nyakane (103, 15)
  14. Schalk Brits (71, 20)
  15. Lizo Gqoboka (49, 15)

 

Replacements:

  1. Jaco Visagie (42, 5)
  2. Simphiwe Matanzima (12, 5)
  3. Wiehan Herbst (45, 0)
  4. Jannes Kirsten (28, 10)
  5. Marco van Staden (21, 15)
  6. Embrose Papier (21, 5)
  7. JT Jackson (1, 0)
  8. Divan Rossouw (22, 15)

Note:

Lizo Gqoboka will play in his 50th match for the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament.