Dippenaar to face Mortlock
Pretoria - Vodacom Bulls youngster Stefan Dippenaar is set to get the opportunity of a lifetime this weekend against the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld. Dippenaar, a former SA under-20 player who played two Vodacom Super 14 games for the Bulls last year, is set to fill the position left vacant by the injury to Springbok Jaco Pretorius after the latter received a heavy blow on his thigh in his side’s opening 51-34 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
This is the impression left after the 22-year old Dippenaar, who hails from Moorreesburg, slotted into the position in the absence of Pretorius at Tuesday’s practice session at Loftus Versfeld. If he is confirmed as the starter, he will have a big ask to face Wallaby stalwart Stirling Mortlock in the midfield in Saturday’s clash.
The Bulls also have other options they can consider with Jacques-Louis Potgieter able to slot into inside centre and Wynand Olivier capable of moving outside, but it is unlikely they will choose this option and disturb the momentum built up by the backline with a shuffle.
Francois Hougaard is also set to return to the side at the expense of John Mametsa this weekend. Hougaard withdrew on the morning of the Bloemfontein game and Mametsa filled in well, and was one of the stars in an excellent opening performance by the Bulls.
Other than those two changes, the Bulls are likely to stick to the same formula that saw them score six tries on the weekend and according to Head coach Frans Ludeke can’t wait to get back to Loftus Versfeld.
“It is always nice to play at home and doesn’t interrupt with our routine.
When the crowd comes it creates that special environment and the players really appreciate that,” Ludeke said.
“But there are some areas that we need to get right this coming weekend. We are playing against a quality side and one of the top teams in the competition.
“They played away from home and won they have got a lot of good internationals. So it’s going to be another tough weekend.”
The Bulls know that they will have to up their game at the restarts, where the Cheetahs scored 11 points. But with a solid scrum platform and their game plan working well, Ludeke isn’t worried.
“The restarts we managed to adjust nicely and we will make one or two adjustments to make sure we have numbers and are sorted out,” Ludeke explained.
“The scrums were a great platform where we felt we could launch from and on defence there was a huge battle in attacking the gain line.
“The challenge now will be for us to get turnovers and stop guys from getting over the gain line. We have to be honest when it comes to this process, there are no shortcuts.”
Probable Bulls team:
Zane Kirchner; Gerhard van den Heever, Stefan Dippenaar, Wynand Olivier, Francois Hougaard; Morné Steyn, Fourie du Preez; Pierre Spies, Pedrie Wannenburg, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield (captain), Danie Rossouw, Werner Kruger, Gary Botha, Gurthö Steenkamp.
