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Clinton swart
Johan Rynners / Blue Bulls Rugby
- The Bulls will apparently fight the fire by selecting Clinton Swart to counter Frans Steyn when they take on the Cheetahs.
- The 27-year-old inside center, a former Cheetah, has a reputation for being a straight forward player and could take on opponent Springbok.
- Jake White, the Bulls’ rugby director, also notes that getting to know his players better is part of his journey of discovery.
There is little scientific evidence to suggest that rock will break rock, but Jake White, in rugby terms at least, is going to give it anyway.
With the commanding presence of Frans Steyn stalking his Bulls in their Super Rugby Unlocked encounter with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday night, White is going to counter the Clinton Swart threat.
The 27-year-old winger, equally skilled inside the center or midfielder, will make his debut for the Loftus team, ironically against his former teammates and boasts a fighting reputation that is expected to alter his illustrious opponent of the Los Angeles. Springbok.
Swart, who played under White in Japan for Toyota Verblitz, is significantly shorter than Steyn but packs a punch in midfield.
“I guess somehow his selection is designed to counter Frans,” White said.
“I know what Frans has to offer. If we give Frans a lot of advantage, they will play him, so in many ways he influenced Clinton’s selection.”
Teams:
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais
Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Chris Massyn, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 William Small-Smith
Bulls
15 Gio Aplon, 14 David Kriel, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans
But it’s not the only reason the Bulls’ rugby manager parted ways with a promising combination of Stedman Gans and Cornal Hendricks.
White has made no secret of the fact that he is still on a voyage of discovery, gaining more and more insight into players he hasn’t worked with much before.
“I don’t know all these players, so I would like to try different combinations. It gives me the opportunity to see them play,” he said.
“At the same time, I think we can appreciate that we won’t get away with playing Stedman and Cornal every week. Clinton has trained very well, comes from Free State and played for the Cheetahs, so he probably knows the stadium well. . “
Corniel van Zyl, assistant coach of the Cheetahs, expects no less from the Bulls.
“Frans made a very good debut for us. It is a Springbok and I am convinced they have been working on a plan to contain it,” he said.
“He’s a strong running back and an important component in both offense and defense, but it remains to be seen if they will actively target him.”
The start is at 19:00.
