The Vodacom Bulls have made one change to their matchday XXIII personnel ahead of the crunch and fiercely contested battle against Southern rivals, the DHL Stormers. The round 12 of the 2024/25 Vodacom United Rugby Championship test will kick off at 17h00 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

  • White makes one change to team
  • Tshakweni replaced by Van der Merwe
  • Nemo starts at eight, Gumede joins impact squad
  • 35 000 tickets sold, White urging fans to FillUpLoftus again

35 000 tickets have already gone to market, and that means this club rugby test match could be played in front of a sold-out crowd for a second consecutive season at fortress Loftus. Fans can get tickets from as little as R 100.00c only from Ticketpro.

The change sees Alulutho Tshakweni miss out and Akker van der Merwe returning to action after managing a laceration to the sheen over the last two rounds. The only other change is a shuffle that sees Nizaam Carr and Celimpilo ka Gumede make a direct switch, whilst Jan-hendrik Wessels moves to the role of reserve hooker.

Elsewhere, the side remains unchanged from the Jukskei derby squad, which sees Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw at front row. Behind them will be lock pairing of Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden with ‘Eskom’ and ‘Piston’ at loose forward. Ludwig aka ‘Piston’, leads the side once again this weekend. Nemo slots in at eight.

Embrose Papier and Willie le Roux combine once more at halfback with Canan Moodie and Sebastian de Klerk running on the wings whilst Devon Williams provides cover at fullback. David Kriel and last week’s Vodacom Player of the Match Stedman Gans combine at inside and outside centre, respectively.

Vodacom Bulls mentor Jake White has opted for a five-three split impact squad, which sees Wessels, Gumede and Van der Merwe alongside the likes of Ruan Vermaak, Zak Burger, the versatile Keagan Johannes and seasoned campaigner in Sergeal Petersen.

VODACOM BULLS vs DHL STORMERS STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp (Laerskool Mooirivier), 2. Johan Grobbelaar (Paarl Gymnasium), 3. Wilco Louw (Laerskool Wolseley/HTS Drostdy), 4. Cobus Wiese (Hoërskool Upington), 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. Canan Moodie (Boland Landbou Laerskool George Suid), 12. David Kriel (Eikestad Primary), 13. Stedman Gans (Hoërskool Waterkloof), 14. Sebastian de Klerk (Laerskool Durbanville), 15. Devon Williams (Paarl Boys High)

VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Akker van der Merwe (Laerskool George Suid), 17. Jan-hendrik Wessels (Hoerskool Grey Kollege), 18. Francois Klopper (Winterton Primary School), 19. Ruan Vermaak (Wysneusies), 20. Celimpilo Gumede (Durban High School), 21. Zak Burger (Paarl Gimnasium), 22. Keagan Johannes (Laerskool Swartland Primary), 23. Sergeal Petersen (Grey High)

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