Pierre Spies and Gurthrö Steenkamp will join eight other team mates with 50 Super 14 caps against the losing finalist from last year’s competition.
Both Spies and Steenkamp, who are two of the form forwards of the competition this season, will run out early but Kuün’s absence means he will miss out for this week at least in achieving his half century for the team. He currently has 49 Super Rugby caps.
Spies will be spurred on by his 50th match for the Bulls. He made his debut as wing against the Highlanders in 2005.
“Yes, I certainly did not think I would play 50 games after that start,” Spies joked. The Bulls lost that game 0-26.
“I am very excited about the milestone. It makes you realise how blessed you are to be able to play for a team for so long and I am very grateful for the chance.”
Spies gets more serious when he talks about the clash with Lauaki.
“It’s a daunting loose-trio, but in the Super 14 you play against quality players every week. The challenge is to play well every week. This week it’s the Chiefs loose-trio that we have to get the better of,” he said.
The Bulls have not beaten the Chiefs in Hamilton before, but according to Spies it is not what motivates them.
“We try to eliminate external issues like that and rather focus on what we want to do in the game. This is a big challenge, but after the Blues game we realised again that we will have to play well for 80 minutes to pull it off. I think we can.”
Vanjaar wil Gurthrö Steenkamp sy ondersteuners terugbetaal.
En om Vrydag in Hamilton teen die Chiefs die 50ste keer in die Bulls-trui uit te draf en ’n gróót Super14-wedstryd te speel, is een manier om dankie te sê vir die ondersteuners, maar ook vir die span wat by hom gestaan het toe hy erg met beserings gesukkel het, het Steenkamp gister aan Sport24 gesê.
Dié Bok-stut het in 2004 in tien wedstryde vir die Cats uitgedraf en toe Bulls toe uitgewyk “om bekers te wen”, maar twee jaar erg met beserings gesukkel en skaars Super-rugby gespeel.
“Daarom is hierdie vir my so spesiaal, want die Bulls het by my gestaan toe ek in die begin byna niks kon bydra nie,” het Steenkamp gesê.
“Maar sedert 2007 gaan dit darem beter en ek is nou hier by ’n doelwit wat ek vir myself gestel het. Dit is ’n goeie gevoel en ek is regtig opgewonde.”
Steenkamp speel vanjaar kookwater-rugby en beïndruk nie net met sy skrumwerk nie, maar ook sy vermoë om die bal oor die voordeellyn te kry.
Oor eersgenoemde is hy doodeerlik.
“Daar was einde verlede jaar baie kritiek oor my skrumwerk en dinge het nie so goed gegaan soos ek graag wou hê nie, al het die res van die seisoen soveel sukses gebring.”
Steenkamp, wat op sy dag as Os du Randt se natuurlike opvolger beskou is, het nie net sy plek in die Springbok-skrum aan Beast Mtawarira (van die Sharks) afgestaan nie, sy kontrak met die nasionale span is ook nie vanjaar hernieu nie.
“Oor my Bok-plek kan ek nie veel sê nie, want Beast het regtig uitstekende rugby gespeel en hy het verdien om daar te speel.
“Dit het beteken dat ek nie baie kanse gekry het nie en dit was ’n moeilike tyd vir my.”
Harde werk in die gimnasium en op die oefenveld het die nodige resultate gebring.
“Dit help seker dat my doelwitte vanjaar pret op die veld ook insluit. Ek het myself voorgeneem om elke wedstryd ’n beduidende bydrae vir die span te maak, maar ook om seker te maak ek geniet myself.
“Maar daarvoor moes ek teruggaan basics toe en seker maak ek begin van daar af om my kant te bring.”
Steenkamp se werkverrigting buite die vaste los is opvallend, met stormlopies oor die voordeellyn wat hom nou al in ’n paar wedstryde sentimeters van die doellyn af gebring het.
“Ek speel nie vir myself nie, maar as daardie drie kom, sal ek hom geniet,” erken Steenkamp, wat nog net een keer in sy vorige 49 wedstryde agter die doellyn gekuier het.
“My eerste take het steeds nie verander nie, maar sodra die geleentheid hom voordoen, probeer ek die bal dra. Die donkiewerk kom steeds eerste.”
As sy spelpeil weer nasionale erkenning bring, sal dit ’n kersie op die koek wees, maar vir nou gaan dit net oor die Bulls en wat hy saam met die span wil bereik. “Ons sal weer op ons voete land teen die Chiefs,” groet hy waarskuwend.
Steenkamp en Pierre Spies speel in hul 50ste wedstryd vir die span wat slegs twee gedwonge veranderinge toon van die Blues-wedstryd.
Stephan Dippenaar vervang die beseerde Jaco Pretorius en Heini Adams is as plaasvervanger in Derick Kuün se plek gekies.
Die Bulls-span (met getal wedstryde) is:
Zane Kirchner (33), Gerhard van den Heever (11), Stephan Dippenaar (7), Wynand Olivier (64), Francois Hougaard (10), Morné Steyn (66), Fourie du Preez (92), Pierre Spies (49), Dewald Potgieter (24), Deon Stegmann (32), Victor Matfield (102), Danie Rossouw (95), Werner Kruger (35), Gary Botha (66), Gurthrö Steenkamp (59).
PLAASVERVANGERS: Bandise Maku (14), Bees Roux (23), Flip van der Merwe (13), Pedrie Wannenburg (105), Heini Adams (32), Jacques-Louis Potgieter (24), Jaco van der Westhuyzen (50).
NZ view
The Chiefs started this season reminding themselves of the humiliating 61-point pounding they took in last year’s Super 14 final from the Bulls.
But as they contemplate another showdown with the competition pacesetters in Hamilton tonight, coach Ian Foster prefers to term that blowout in the final as irrelevant.
“We used it as a starting point; it wasn’t so much about looking at the Bulls, it was about looking at our last performance and where we finished,” Foster said.
“So we moved on pretty quickly from that, but it did give us some goals in terms of performance levels.
“You’re playing them again now and it doesn’t feel at all related to last year in a lot of ways. It’s a new campaign, we’re at that halfway stage of it and our team’s in a slightly different situation (sixth) to what it was last year, so it just feels like a new challenge really.”
The Bulls had their first loss of the season last weekend at the hands of the Blues in Auckland, breaking a 12-game winning streak that extended back to last year, but they are still at the top of the points table and Foster is full of admiration for them.
“I’ve been really impressed with them in the early rounds,” he said.
“I thought they seemed to play with a lot of tempo, with a lot of width back home and they’re just a very, very experienced group.
“They’ve got so many guys who have played more than 50 games at this level. They’ve been together for a few years, they’ve had a lot of success so they’re not going to be too flustered about a loss.
“They’ll take some learnings out of that and come back strong, but it’s still going to be exciting and we’re looking forward to playing them back at home here.
“We enjoyed the win last week and know it’s not quite at the level we want to be at yet, so we’ve got plenty of room to grow.”
Foster said the Blues had played well against the Bulls, nullifying the latter’s key attacking strengths using certain strengths in their own game that did not necessarily mirror those of the Chiefs.
“We’ve got to try and do some of that same thing, but I guess our team’s got different strengths and weaknesses and we’ve just got to figure our own way around it.” The scrum was a key area and much depended on how it was reffed, and whether teams were stopped from moving it before the ball was put in, he said.
“I think the scrums were well reffed last week (in the Blues v Bulls game) and (Craig) Joubert didn’t allow too much work to be done after the hit and he made sure the nines had a square scrum to put the ball into.”
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The Chiefs haven’t always had that from the refs in recent weeks but Foster was banking on top South African whistle blower Jonathan Kaplan to make sure that happens tonight.
“I’m pretty confident Kaplan, who is a good ref in that scrum area, will do the same thing and that gives you more of a contest.”
Foster was pleased with his own team’s lineout performance last week against the Highlanders but conceded the Bulls have, statistically, one of the best lineouts in the world and from that they launch some powerful driving mauls that are difficult to stop. “We’re going to have to be smart and we’re going to have to be combative,” he said.
Springboks Pierre Spies at No8 and Gurthro Steenkamp at loose-head prop will join eight of their team-mates when they reach their 50th Super 14 caps tonight, and the depth of the Bulls’ squad is illustrated in reserve flanker Pedrie Wannenburg, who will set a new record for the franchise of 106 caps if he gets on the field.
Skipper Victor Matfield has played 102 games at this level.
GEEZ superBull get some sleep.
Eish Loosehead my mind could not switch off. I better get something for sleep. The tragedy at Tshukudu is getting to me.
Just get something natural…
Dont worry i will get something, it is almost over now anyway. Funeral tomorrow at 10.
Rugby is at least now on again, actually jammer there is only one game today
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