Frans Ludeke includes Victor Matfield - Bulls v Stormers – Super Rugby update
Victor Matfield the skipper for Bulls will be leading his side in the next Super Rugby clash against Stormers. He will be taking on the field winning his 1114th cap in his club rugby career.
After Frans Ludeke the coach announced his side, Victor Matfield is one of the only three Super 15 centurions in the Bulls match day 22. Frans Ludeke made only one alteration to the first fifteen and three more on the bench.
Matfield will be accompanied by Bakkies Botha at lock. Botha was earlier ruled out due to foot injury that he picked in a fixture two weeks ago against Highlanders. His inclusion means that Danie Rossouw will be downgraded to the bench causing Juandre Kruger
to be left out of squad.
Gary Botha has also been included in the squad and will be on bench till Botha is called off. Francois Hougaard is also part of the squad and this will be his first Super Rugby appearance this year. Hougaard will be benched till required on field.
Ludeke made a few significant changes to the side, raising suspicions for Stormers. Ludeke won’t be taking any chances for this clash and seems to be doing his homework for this one for a while. He picked up two backs and five forwards on the bench.
The Super 14 side of 201 has been repeated, as the complete 17 players of that final match in 2010 will be playing this one against Stormers. Ludeke believes that these changes were important to get back to the Bulls traditional winning ways.
He said, “The crush we experienced against the Highlanders was an excellent wake-up call for all and we are eager to get back to our winning ways. They don't come better than the Stormers, so we geared up consequently.”
Matfield seems content with his side for the next clash, though he admits the abilities and the winning streak of the opposing side. He said, “This is always a huge match for all of us, but even more significantly, it is a home fixture and we need to use
that benefit. We are skilled, yes, but that only counts if we pertain ourselves accurately.”
Stormers are going unbeaten so far and this proves their ability to crush any side, whether home or away. Bulls need to put in a lot more than effort to get desired results. The inclusion of Springbok Lock, Matfield is a major boost for the Bulls and will
make the home side play at ease as far as forward line is concerned.
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