CAPE TOWN – The Bulls have been rocked by the unavailability of backline stars Stedman Gans and Kurt-Lee Arendse for Wednesday’s crucial Currie Cup clash against the Lions in Pretoria.
Gans and Arendse were not included in the extended match-day squad announced by coach Jake White on Monday afternoon, with the team management explaining in a statement that the “larger than normal group is mainly due to the fact that the team is still awaiting a few Covid-19 test results”.
The match-23 will be named as soon as they receive further Covid-19 test results.
Apart from Gans and Arendse, other regulars such as Gerhard Steenekamp, Nizaam Carr, Mornay Smith, Sintu Manjezi, Marco Janse van Vuren were also left out due to Covid-19 protocols.
But White will be glad to see that captain Duane Vermeulen and fellow Springbok Lizo Gqoboka are back on the pitch, as well as flank Elrigh Louw for Wednesday’s Gauteng derby at Loftus Versfeld, which will kick off at 4pm.
A victory for the log-leading Bulls will secure a home semi-final.
“It’s been an interesting and challenging season to say the least, with the past two weeks probably being our most testing yet. We haven’t had a lot of time together following the isolation protocols, which doesn’t make it ideal going into a crunch game like this one,” White said.
“Having said that, we’re just excited to be able to play again and get our campaign back on track.”
Bulls Squad
Lizo Gqoboka, Schalk Erasmus, Trevor Nyakane, Jan Uys, Ruan Nortje, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Stravino Jacobs, Cornal Hendricks, Marnus Potgieter, Jay-Cee Nel, David Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Marcel van der Merwe, Walt Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Tim Agaba, Ivan van Zyl, Morné Steyn, Keagan Johannes, David Kellerman, Jade Stighling, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Joe van Zyl.
IOL Sport