Johan Grobbelaar will lead the Vodacom Bulls when they take on English outfit Saracens in the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup opening round at StoneX Stadium in London.
- Grobbelaar captains the side
- Moodie shifts to centre with Williams at wing
- Eskom starts at flanker and Hanekom at eight
The match kicks off at 19h30 local time.
The Springbok hooker will lead from the front flanked by fellow international teammate Gerhard Steenekamp on his left at loosehead and Francois Klopper at tighthead to his right. Behind the front row, the same lock combination from round 7 of the VURC in Ruan Vermaak and JF van Heerden has been retained alongside Cobus Wiese at flanker. Marco van Staden slots in at flank with Cameron Hanekom at eight as the Bok duo complete the two changes made to the forwards pack this week.
Director of Rugby Jake White has paired up Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen at scrumhalf and flyhalf respectively.
Elsewhere, the Vodacom Bulls made minor changes, shifting Springbok star Canan Moodie to pair up with David Kriel at centre with Devon Williams coming into the starting xv at left wing. Sebastian de Klerk will dash on the right-hand side of the park with Sergeant Willie le Roux at fullback.
-The impact squad has been split into a five-three balance in favour of the forwards, which sees last weekend’s starters in Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni, Marcel Coetzee and Harold Vorster all shift to standby and are joined by Jannes Kirsten, Keagan Johannes and Aphiwe Dyantyi.
VODACOM BULLS vs SARACENS STARTING XV: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Johan Grobbelaar (c), 3. Francois Klopper, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. JF van Heerden, 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Cobus Wiese, 8. Cameron Hanekom, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. Devon Williams, 12 .David Kriel, 13. Canan Moodie, 14. Sebastian de Klerk, 15. Willie le Roux
VODACOM BULLS IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Akker van der Merwe, 17. Alulutho Tshakweni, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Jannes Kirsten, 20. Marcel Coetzee, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Aphiwe Dyantyi, 23. Harold Vorster
MANAGEMENT: Jake White – Director of Rugby, Chris Rossouw – Assistant Coach, Werner Kruger – Assistant Coach, Andries Bekker – Assistant Coach, Jean Tiedt – Assistant Coach, Kennedy Tsimba – Assistant Coach, Phiwe Nomlomo – Assistant Coach, John-William Meyer – Technical Analyst, Dr. Moshe Magethi – Team Doctor, Lance Lammetjies & Darryn Berry – Physiotherapists, Andre Volsteedt – Strength & Conditioning, Yusuf Vahed – Sport Scientist, Elias Bennett – Team Manager, Simon Dyidi – Logistics Manager
