White names Bulls team for Currie Cup semi-final against Cheetahs

Bulls boss Jake White has picked a powerful team full of United Rugby Championship players for the Currie Cup semi-final match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.

The winner of the match will face either the Sharks or Pumas, who play at 5pm, in this year’s final.

The Bulls and Cheetahs met just last weekend in the final round-robin fixture, with the Cheetahs edging their hosts at Loftus Versfeld.

Changes

White has made four changes to his matchday-23 with Johan Grobbelaar, WJ Steenkamp, Bernard van der Linde and Sibongile Novuka all being rotated into the fold.

Veterans Morne Steyn and Bismarck du Plessis, who played last week in their final match before retirement, are out of the mix this week.

Grobbelaar comes into starting XV, slotting into the front row as one of only two changes to an otherwise unchanged pack. The other change to the men in front is Nizaam Carr starting at openside flank.

Last week’s starting hooker, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, shifts to the bench where Steenkamp, Van der Linde and Novuka will all look to make an impact.

At the back, the only changes are that of Keagan Johannes and Chris Smith, who replace Embrose Papier and Steyn. The rest of the backline remains unchanged.

Bulls: Johan Goosen, Cornal Hendricks, Stedman Gans, Harold Vorster, David Kriel, Chris Smith, Keagan Johannes, Elrigh Louw, Nizaam Carr, Marcell Coetzee (capt), Ruan Nortje, Ruan Vermaak, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Janko Swanepoel, WJ Steenkamp, Bernard van der Linde, Sibongile Novuka, Wandisile Simelane