There may be no Canan Moodie, Cameron Hanekom, Ruan Nortje or Kurt-Lee Arendse but the Vodacom Bulls have still packed their side full of Springboks ahead of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks on Saturday.
The big guns brought back for this derby include the Springbok front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw, while Elrigh Louw will captain the side and Cobus Wiese is in the engine room.
But some injuries have meant a rethink on the team selection and the strange decision to give Springboks Nortje and Moodie leave ahead of the big derby game is perplexing, but may suit them later in the season.
Handre Pollard is there, as is Willie le Roux, but with Jan Serfontein injured and Moodie on leave, the backline could have been stronger.
Sebastian de Klerk and Stravino Jacobs are the wingers and David Kriel and Harold Vorster make up the midfield.
The bench also sees some quality with Jan-Hendrik Wessels returning from suspension and Akker van der Merwe to bolster the front row.
YOUR team to take on the Sharks tomorrow 😮💨
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 19, 2025
🐂 Vodacom Bulls vs Hollywoodbets Sharks
📅 20 December 2025 | ⏰ 18:00@Vodacom #URC | @URCOfficial_RSA #TheUnbreakableLine pic.twitter.com/ILYaHTLLEA
Coach Johan Ackermann said the 11 changes reflected the fact the side was hurting and wanted to put in a performance worthy of the jersey.
“Obviously we are hurting. Like anything in life, if it doesn't go well, it's not a nice time. You have to look deep, have introspection and ask a lot of questions,” Ackermann said.
“But saying that we didn't have time to dwell too much. It was a long enough flight that we had time to think and look at ourselves. But we had to get stuck into this week and only had two days to train.
“Therefore now we have to be positive. We must use this opportunity to hopefully answer you to play an 80-minute game, because obviously everybody knows those two things. One, if we're not going to play well, the Sharks have got a quality team. They'll punish you. And two, we haven't played well for the last three games. We struggled in the second half, so three, four games. So we need to put in an 80-minute performance.”
'ALL ABOUT ACCURACY'
Ackermann said the pressure was on the side to stop the frustration of both their Champions’ Cup losses and in the bigger picture, to stop the four game losing streak.
“I think we're frustrated because of the mistakes we make and the fact that we've been in most of the games so close to turning it around. And then we, through basic errors, either through breakdown, handling, knocking the ball, penalties, yellow cards, we let it slip, and then we let our own standards slip. So that was probably the frustration. But all the games before that, we basically were our worst enemy. And therefore, that was the frustration. So this week, you know, it's all about just accuracy.
“And that's the part that we looked at things we wanted to fix. We worked hard on the things we wanted to correct. It was some players that joined us that's back in the team that we had to make sure they're up to standard with the detail and the plan. And now it's all about, you know, you can't change the past. We can only look at the future. That's all we can control.
“I mean, we all make mistakes, but we wish we could have changed it. But we can't, you know, we have to deal with that. And so this week, it is a away game and the pressure is a bit more on the Sharks. In a sense, now the pressure is on us as well to see if we can pick up away wins.
“So that's why this game is very important. And I know supporters will say, well, every game is important. And that is so. But we know that we can hopefully get our season back on track for this weekend.”
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux; Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; JJ Theron, Elrigh Louw (captain), Jeandre Rudolph, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Khuta Mchunu, Reinhardt Ludwig, Nizaam Carr, Paul de Wet, Stedman Gans, Devon Williams.