Johan Grobbelaar will start at hooker for the Vodacom Bulls’ opening Currie Cup clash against Western Province at Newlands on Saturday.

The recently crowned Super Rugby Unlocked champions now set their sights on the Currie Cup which the Pretoria franchise last won in 2009, and will be determined to bag a full house of points in what will be their final outing at Newlands.

Bulls head coach Jake White has tweaked his matchday squad with the inclusion of Grobbelaar at hooker while Chris Smith retains the No 10 jersey after an impressive showing last week against the Pumas

The rest of the starting line-up remains unchanged.

Among the replacements, Corniel Els shifts to the bench and will provide cover at hooker while Clinton Swart retains the number 22 jersey, with Morne Steyn still out.

‘We achieved our first goal of the post-pandemic season and now we shift our focus to securing the Currie Cup with a massive target on our backs,’ White said. ‘There are a few teams that can travel to Newlands as favourites, which makes our job harder. Couple that with the fact that Western Province are always a difficult team to face, home or away, and fans can expect a true old school North-South derby.’

Bulls – 15 David Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19  Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images