Jake tweaks Bulls for Dragons duel

Keagan Johannes starts at flyhalf, while Sergeal Petersen and Nama Xaba have been recalled as part of a formidable Vodacom Bulls 23 to face Dragons in Pretoria on Saturday.

Johannes replaces the injured Johan Goosen in one of several tweaks to the Bulls backline from the Vodacom URC win against Cardiff at Loftus Versfeld last week.

Canan Moodie shifts from right wing to outside centre, with David Kriel taking over the No 12 jersey from Harold Vorster. Petersen comes in at left wing in a potent back three with Sebastian de Klerk and Willie le Roux.

Xaba, who last featured for the Herd in January, starts at openside flanker in just his fifth appearance of the season. Skipper Ruan Nortje and No 8 Cameron Hanekom retain their starting spots in the back row, as do locks Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden.

In the front row, loosehead prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels packs down this week with hooker Akker van der Merwe and Mornay Smith.

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Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Jannes Kirsten, Marcell Coetzee, Bernard van der Linde, Stedman Gans and Devon Williams provide cover on bench as Jake White’s men set their sights on building winning momentum with an eye on the playoffs.

Kick-off will be preceded by a moment of silence in memory of Springbok and Bulls star Cornal Hendricks, who passed away on Wednesday from a heart attack.

“Tomorrow will be an emotional encounter for sure because many of our players knew Cornal and others, like Willie, were with him from the start of their careers to their international days. Whether we talk about it or try not, I am confident that the emotions will be high tomorrow because he was a player that was well-liked,” White said.

“This is a game where we want to do well. It would be naïve of us to think it will be an easy game, and we must make sure we play as well as we can, looking at the coming weeks. These types of opponents, sometimes, are the most dangerous because they play knowing they do not need to leave anything in the tank.”

“This is one of those games that if you arrive thinking you are going to win, that mindset can come back to bite you.”

White’s troops enter the final round of URC league action as favourites, and guaranteed a second-place finish if they don’t lose to Dragons, who went down to the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium in round 17.

The Bulls have secured a home URC quarter-final for 31 May and they have a four-point lead over third-placed Glasgow going into this week’s clash.

On a six-match URC winning run, the Herd have lost just twice at Loftus in the competition this season, while Dragons are rooted to the foot of the table following 16 defeats.

BULLS – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ruan Nortje (c), 6 Nama Xaba, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Devon Williams.

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images