Need for speed: Bulls adjust for Lions after being outrun last week

True to his word, Bulls boss Jake White has made selection changes to increase his squad’s speed for the second Jukskei derby against the Lions on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).

While the Bulls “scrummed and mauled them to pieces”, they still lost 29–19 to the Sharks last weekend courtesy of three tries from the Sharks backline and one from flanker Tinotenda Mavesere who also proved too fast to catch after his line break.

White said afterwards that pace could not be coached but they could improve things “selection-wise, gameplan-wise, and accuracy-wise”.

He mentioned they had missed eighthman Cameron Hanekom because the big number 8 also has pace and a good tactical mind, which would have seen him fill gaps before they appeared.

While Hanekom will not be ready in time for the match at Loftus (calf injury), White opted for Sebastian de Klerk to replace Sergeal Petersen at right wing and Stedman Gans to replace Harold Vorster at outside centre.

Springbok veteran Willie le Roux starts at flyhalf again for the Bulls but this time his backup will be Keagan Johannes instead of Boeta Chamberlain.

See all the changes here.

The Bulls’ need for speed

“Maybe it looks now that we’ve got more speed and that’s an influence of… how important speed was last week,” White said.

“But I would have done it anyway had we not been beaten for speed or we won that game because I am going to have to do it [squad rotation] in the next couple weeks as well.”

He said Hanekom will be missed in the meantime.

“His point of difference is his explosiveness and his speed. If he is not at his best with his calf then he is no use.

“There would have been things he would have stopped happening before they happened. The end picture is we looked like we were exposed but he would have been in certain positions when the ball bounced or when there was a turnover he would have been there two or three seconds before that which meant the end result would never have occurred.”

The Bulls boss said he picked quicker players and was trying to get his injured players back onto the field.

The Lions named a quick side as well for the second Jukskei derby, with Quan Horn, Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Morne van den Berg in the backline.

Bulls v Lions: Second Jukskei derby this season could be even bigger than the first