Reinhardt Ludwig will captain the Vodacom Bulls when the Tshwane side welcomes the Hollywoodbets Sharks in round 11 of the 2024/25 Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign.

  • Ludwig captains the side
  • Eskom lights up forward pack
  • Unchanged backline from derby triumph
  • Gumede, Dyantyi enter the matchday XXIII

Tickets for the battle between third and fourth on the log start from R 65.00c only via Ticketpro and the action kicks off is set for 17h00 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

Ludwig will lead the side from loose forward, where he will be alongside Marco ‘Eskom’ van Staden, who returns to action after recovering surgery a few weeks back. Behind the two will be Nizaam Carr, who completes the loose trio. In front, the combination of Jan-hendrik Wessels, Johann Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw has been retained whilst JF van Heerden has a new lock-mate in Ruan Vermaak.

Director of Rugby, Jake White has retained the services of the same triumphant backline that did duty in Cape Town. Embrose Papier, at scrumhalf and Willie le Roux at flyhalf combine at halfback with Sergeal Petersen and Canan Moodie running out on the wings. Harold Vorster and David Kriel will run at inside and outside centre, respectively, and Devon Williams at fullback.

Speaking about his skipper this weekend, White said: “Reinhardt has been captain before, and he will be around for us based on the fact that he can play lock and loose forward. He knows what we want to get out of tomorrow.”

Asked about the choice of the bench combinations, White remarked: “We have realized that there is wisdom in finishing the game with as much experience as you can, so to have Springboks come in to finish the game,”

“Also, it will be good to have another group of players get 60-70 minutes of play as we run towards the back end of the competitions.”

The five-three split impact squad features new additions to the matchday 23 in Jannes Kirsten, who returns from injury, as well as Celimpilo Gumede and Aphiwe Dyantyi. Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp, Francois Klopper, Zak Burger and Boeta Chamberlain.

VODACOM BULLS vs HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS STARTING XV: 1. Jan-hendrik Wessels (Hoerskool Grey Kollege), 2. Johan Grobbelaar (Paarl Gymnasium), 3. Wilco Louw (Laerskool Wolseley/HTS Drostdy), 4. Ruan Vermaak (Wysneusies), 5. JF van Heerden (Grey College), 6. Marco van Staden (Hoërskool Bekker), 7. Reinhardt Ludwig (c) (Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool), 8. Nizaam Carr (Bishops School), 9. Embrose Papier (Hoerskool Gaasfontein), 10. Willie le Roux (Locnerhof Primary School), 11. Sergeal Petersen (Grey High), 12. Harold Vorster (Hoërskool Frans du Toit), 13. David Kriel (Eikestad Primary), 14. Canan Moodie (Boland Landbou Laerskool George Suid), 15. Devon Williams (Paarl Boys High)

VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Akker van der Merwe (Laerskool George Suid), 17. Gerhard Steenekamp (Laerskool Mooirivier), 18. Francois Klopper (Winterton Primary School), 19. Jannes Kirsten (Laerskool Elarduspark), 20. Celimpilo Gumede (Durban High School), 21. Zak Burger (Paarl Gimnasium), 22. Boeta Chamberlain (Brackenfell Primary School), 23. Aphiwe Dyantyi (Dale college)

MANAGEMENT: Jake White – Director of Rugby, Chris Rossouw – Assistant Coach, Werner Kruger – Assistant Coach, Andries Bekker – Assistant Coach, Jean Tiedt – Assistant Coach, Kennedy Tsimba – Assistant Coach, Phiwe Nomlomo – Assistant Coach, John-William Meyer – Technical Analyst, Dr. Herman Rossouw – Team Doctor, Lance Lammetjies & Darryn Berry – Physiotherapists, Andre Volsteedt – Strength & Conditioning, Yusuf Vahed – Sport Scientist, Elias Bennett – Team Manager, Simon Dyidi – Logistics Manager