Matanzima is the one, says Bulls coach White ahead of Sharks clash

Driven by the need to up his game time Simphiwe Matanzima has cracked the nod in the Bulls starting team for their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Sharks in Durban on New Year's Eve.

The Bulls packed a punch in the scrums against the Stormers last week but director of rugby Jake White, in tune with his policy of rotation, believes Matanzima this week needs to be involved from the get-go.

“I have not given him enough game time. I could see the frustration in his eyes that he did not have enough time to stamp his authority,” admitted White in relation to last weekend's defeat in Cape Town. “He scrummed really well and I was probably conservative in giving the front row more time since they played so well. So, I felt I needed to give Simphiwe more time this week.”

The coach added this weekend's assignment will be a good test for Matanzima along with fellow starting front rankers Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith.

“He is a loosehead prop champing at the bit to start and he is ready to give us a good game. Sometimes when you create competition at certain positions, you get different results out of each person.”

The Bulls have added three new names to the match-day 23 for the Durban clash. Apart from Matanzima, Bernard van der Linde will start at scrumhalf with Chris Smith as his halfback partner.

Embrose Papier drops to the bench, while Johan Goosen shifts to fullback and Kurt-Lee Arendse to left-wing.

The moves at nine, 10 and 15 are partly motivated by an anticipated greasy surface at Kings Park.

“Last time we played them we actually picked Smith and Goosen at 10 and 15 and the combination worked, we played reasonably well,” explained White. “Giving us two kickers and two passes, two kicking options which help us a lot. There is also a chance of rain tomorrow and that will suit us a bit with the two at flyhalf and full back.”

“Our selection is not a reaction to them but it is because it is a tactic that worked for us when we played them at home and we would like to see it work again from a combination of two guys who understand each other,”

White, typically, shared his thoughts on the opposition. The task facing them in Durban is bigger than the one they had last week if Bok headcount is anything to go by.

“Looking at their team, it is easy to see why they are the strongest provincial team in the competition. We are going to play against nine Springboks, we did it in Cape Town last season against the SA 'A' side when nobody gave us a chance. Again, the uniqueness of this competition is that anybody can beat anybody. Whether you are 11th on the log playing the top-ranked side, you can still get the result.

“We are going there to give it our full go. We have to play the best rugby to give us the best possible opportunity to get into the play-offs and everybody knows that if you play good rugby in the final few weeks of the competition, you have a good chance at winning the tournament.”

The coach remains bullish about his team's prospects. “We beat the Sharks at Loftus with a bonus point and if they win their match over the Stormers and we win tomorrow in Durban, we then jump up as favourites to win the conference, so there is a lot of permutations still ahead between now and the end of the competition.

“We are still in December, in a competition that runs until May and there is a lot of rugby to be played.”

Bulls team to play the Sharks — Johan Goosen; Canan Moodie, Cornal Hendricks, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Chris Smith, Bernard van der Linde; Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marco van Staden; Ruan Nortje (captain), Ruan Vermaak; Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima. Substitutes: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Sebastian Lombard, Janko Swanepoel, Nizaam Carr; Embrose Papier, Lionel Mapoe, David Kriel.

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