Reinhardt Ludwig takes captaincy for Bulls against Connacht

Reinhardt Ludwig may be a Johnny-come-lately to the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship squad this season, but the 23-year-old lock will captain the team against Connacht in Galway on Friday night.

Ludwig takes over the captaincy from Johan Grobbelaar, who will come off the bench against Connacht, while another former captain is starting at outside centre in David Kriel.

“Ruan Nortje is our overall captain and once he’s back permanently with us then he will be the captain. But with ‘Grobbies’ not starting, we’ve gone for Reinhardt, who has shown he’s a good leader. He has a lot of respect from the team even though he’s young in age,” coach Johan Ackermann explained after announcing his team on Wednesday.

“I want David Kriel to assist him and of course our game-drivers, like the half-backs, must also lead. But I like a captain who is closer to the referee, he can talk to him when there’s a break for a scrum, which is difficult for a number 13 or wing.

“We back Reinhardt’s leadership skills, even though this is just his second game back after a long layoff.”

Three players who were involved in the Springboks’ triumphant Rugby Championship finale against Argentina in London — front rowers Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw and utility back Canan Moodie — are in the Bulls’ starting line-up. But flyhalf Handre Pollard has returned home to be with his pregnant wife and loose forward Marco van Staden took a knock to the knee against Ulster and has also headed home.

In all, Ackermann has made 11 changes to the starting XV and another six on the bench, compared to the team that lost so disappointingly to Ulster last weekend. But the coach said the raft of changes was not a reaction to that result and certainly not a sign of panic.

“It’s about rotation but not just that, we also looked at how we want to play against Connacht. For example JJ Theron, who had done well in our first two matches, is at flank because we want to use him in the lineout. He’s a very good jumper, having played for our U20 side at lock, and that will allow us to use four or five-man lineouts.

“Nama Xaba really deserves his opportunity in the loose trio, he played very well in the Currie Cup and every time he’s come on for us, while Jeandre Rudolph played really well last week. They’re both known for their hard work on the ground, and then Mpilo Gumede can show his worth off the bench after playing 80 minutes for three games.

“In the front row, it’s nice to give Gerhard Steenekamp a break in terms of starting. Alulutho Tshakweni has been training really well, he had a brilliant off-season and did an amazing amount of work. I will keep rotating the No 9s, with Embrose Papier getting over his concussion, while Jan Serfontein has been cleared to play centre.

“We’re still obviously hurting from our second-half performance against Ulster. Any game has momentum swings, but we can’t make back-to-back mistakes like we did then. You need to make sure you switch on when the momentum is not going your way. But we haven’t found settled combinations yet, it’s going to take time to get to the brand of rugby we want to play without having had a proper preseason,” Ackermann said.

Bulls team: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Jan Serfontein, Sebastian de Klerk, Keagan Johannes, Paul de Wet, Jeandre Rudolph, JJ Theron, Nama Xaba, Reinhardt Ludwig, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Alulutho Tshakweni. Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Francois Klopper, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Mpilo Gumede, Embrose Papier, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs.