https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bulls-to-tackle-a-springbok-laden-sharks-in-crunch-south-african-urc-derby
he Sharks have kept changes to a minimum as they tackle the Bulls in the final round of the United Rugby Championship regular season.
Hot off of their Challenge Cup final victory over Gloucester, the Sharks have made just three changes to their starting line-up that defeated the Cherry and Whites.
Sharks team
Springboks Eben Etzebeth, Grant Williams and Makazole Mapimpi will all miss the derby against the Bulls, with the Sharks citing recovery and niggles. Conre Rahl, Cameron Wright and Eduan Keyter have all been elevated to the starting XV in their place.
The Sharks are out of the running for a place in the URC play-offs with head coach John Plumtree explaining that the side wants to “sign off on a positive note” after a difficult season.
As for the Bulls, there is plenty to play for as they head into the final round in second place on the URC table, with the potential to top the table should leaders Munster succumb to Ulster in their final clash. A top two finish would guarantee the Bulls a home semi-final if they progress past the quarters, while top spot would mean a home final should they reach that stage.
Despite the absence of three 2023 Rugby World Cup winners, the Sharks still have named an all-Springbok front row in Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch. Rahl partners Gerbrandt Grobler in the second-row, the latter starting the Challenge Cup final last week.
James Venter, Vincent Tshituka and Phepsi Buthelezi start for a second week in a row with Wright coming in at scrum-half to partner Siya Masuku.
Francois Venter takes over the captaincy duties from Etzebeth and is joined by Ethan Hooker in the centres. Werner Kok will play his final game for the Sharks on the wing ahead of his move to Ulster next season with Keyter and Aphelele Fassi completing the back-three.
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Bulls team
Meanwhile, Jake White has made just one alteration to his matchday 23 which defeated Benetton 56-35 last time out in the URC. Johan Grobbelaar moves into the starting line-up, and Akker van der Merwe takes his place among the replacements.
The Bulls have the opportunity to win the SA Shield by defeating the Sharks on Saturday and could also finish in the top two in the URC with a win.
Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie and Kurt-Lee Arendse start in an all-Springbok back three with in-form star David Kriel partnering Harold Vorster in the centres. Springboks Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen complete the backline.
Ruan Nortje captains the side from the second-row, where Ruan Vermaak joins him while props Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw start either side of hooker Grobbelaar.
Finally, Chris Smith is set to earn his 50th cap for the Bulls off the bench, and he is joined by fellow backs Keagan Johannes Sebastian de Klerk, with Van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Reinhardt Ludwig and Nizaam Carr covering the forwards.
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Sharks v Bulls line-ups
Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12
Francois Venter (c), 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Cameron Wright, 8
Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt
Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khwezi Mona,
19 Lappies Labuschagne, 20 Dylan Richardson, 21 Bradley Davids, 22
Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Diego Appollis
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12
Harold Vorster, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Johan Goosen,
9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden,
5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1
Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18
Francois Klopper, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan
Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Sebastian de Klerk
Venue: Kings Park