Bulls bring in Wannenburg
May 14 2008
Pedrie Wannenburg will start in a loose trio alongside Pierre Spies and Deon Stegmann for the Bulls against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday after Wikus van Heerden was ruled out of the Super 14 match with a knee injury.
The team doctor Tommie Smook told the Bulls' website that Van Heerden has a small tear in the cartilage in his knee that will keep him on the sideline for two to three weeks.
With Wannenburg in the starting XV, the hard hitting Hilton Lobberts will now be on the bench as the loose forward cover. Dewald Potgieter was originally selected as an impact player, but he did not pass a fitness test because of a hamstring problem.
Coach Frans Ludeke kept the rest of his team that beat the Brumbies unchanged for the South African derby and has again named Burton Francis on the bench.
Francis will however be allowed to play in the Vodacom Cup final on Friday, after which he will fly to Bloemfontein to join the rest of the Super 14 group.
If Francis gets injured in the final, the current South Africa U20 fly-half, Francois Brummer, will sit on the bench.
Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Jaco Engels, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis/Francois Brummer, 22 Hilton Lobberts.
Date: Saturday, May 17
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 17:00 (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
Touch judges: Willie Roos (South Africa), Joey Salmans (South Africa)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)