Cape Town — The Bulls have been bolstered by the return of star No 8 Elrigh Louw, but don’t have scrumhalf Embrose Papier available for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster at Loftus Versfeld (2pm kickoff).
Hard-running loose forward Louw tested positive for Covid-19 last week, which saw him miss the 55-20 victory over the Dragons last Saturday.
But coach Jake White said at the time that Louw was asymptomatic, and was expected to be ready to face Ulster.
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) April 1, 2022
YOUR Vodacom Bulls team to take on Ulster tomorrow at Loftus 💪
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And on Friday, the 22-year-old was duly included in the starting line-up, which means that he will head-to-head with former Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen, the Ulster No 8 — sure to be one of the highlights of the encounter.
Papier had recovered from a head knock in time for the Dragons match, but has now picked up another concussion after receiving a blow to the jaw against the Dragons, which sees Zak Burger at No 9 and Keagan Johannes as the scrumhalf on the bench.
There are two further changes, with Cornal Hendricks starting at outside centre and Lionel Mapoe now among the substitutes, while Mornay Smith comes in for the injured Jacques van Rooyen (knee) at tighthead prop.
ALSO READ: Bulls’ Marcell Coetzee won’t be as friendly on field when he meets former Ulster mates
Good news for Bulls fans is that Madosh Tambwe has been passed fit after leaving the field during the Dragons game following a knock to his elbow.
“We have had a tough couple of weeks against strong overseas opposition, and this week we are up against the team that is second on the URC log currently. This will be similar to a test match for us, and we are looking forward to measuring ourselves against one of the best teams in the competition,” White said on Friday.
“We are looking forward to seeing Mornay Smith back in the starting line-up, while we are excited to see this team maintain their consistency as we continue to grow together as a unit.
ALSO READ: Elrigh Louw v Duane Vermeulen: Who will rule Loftus Versfeld?
“This will not only be a big game for us, but also for our fans, whom we hope to see in their numbers at Loftus Versfeld. We can never underplay the role that supporters play, and how important it is to have them back at our stadiums.”
Bulls Team
15 Kurt-Lee Arendse 14 Canan Moodie 13 Cornal Hendricks 12 Harold Vorster 11 Madosh Tambwe 10 Chris Smith 9 Zak Burger 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Cyle Brink 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 5 Ruan Nortje 4 Walt Steenkamp 3 Mornay Smith 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenkamp.
Bench: 16 Joe van Zyl 17 Simphiwe Matanzima 18 Robert Hunt 19 Reinhardt Ludwig 20 Arno Botha 21 Keagan Johannes 22 Morné Steyn 23 Lionel Mapoe.
IOL Sport