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Who will prove to be the game-changer at Loftus Versfeld?
Veteran Bulls fullback Willie le Roux remains a master game reader. Picture: Calum Chittleburgh/SNS Group via Getty Images
The Bulls and Sharks clash in what should be a highly entertaining United Rugby Championship semi-final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria at 6.15pm on Saturday.
They are both quality rugby sides, packed with star players and several Springboks.
Here are six men with the potential to turn the match in their team’s favour and who are sure to receive special attention from the opposition.
For the Bulls
Wilco Louw
The seasoned tighthead prop is in the prime of his career and he is now the key man at scrum time for the Pretoria-based team.
If Louw manages to get on top of his direct opponent, another formidable scrum man in Ox Nche, then the Bulls will dominate in the scrums and they’ll have the platform they want to dictate the flow of the match.
A huge scrum battle awaits, with all six front row starters being Springboks players, but it is Louw who is the main man on Saturday.
Cameron Hanekom
The young No 8 continues to impress at the back of the scrum, and he’ll hope to again show good form against a strong Sharks loose trio.
Hanekom isn’t scared to get involved in the tight battles in the rucks and mauls, but he’s best out wide in space, running with the ball and making metres. If he’s allowed to do that, then the Sharks could be in for a long 80 minutes.
Is this a Springbok trial for Hanekom and Siya Kolisi, who now also operates at eighthman?
Willie le Roux
The veteran fullback is playing some of the best rugby of his career and if he continues with the form he’s showing he’ll again be the Springboks’ first-choice No 15 later this year.
Le Roux’s reading of the game and his understanding of flow and movement is unmatched in local rugby, while his linking work and distribution are key to the Bulls’ game-plan and backline play.
Keagan Johannes might be the Bulls’ flyhalf, but it is Le Roux who decides what happens with the ball in the backs.
For the Sharks
André Esterhuizen
A centre who has it all – power, speed, an eye for the gap and defensive poise. He will be a handful for the Bulls on both sides of the ball.
Despite missing much of the season due to injury, the veteran Springbok has slotted in well. He even earned man of the match against Edinburgh several weeks ago for winning the most turnovers and completing a try-saving tackle.
Estherhuizen can turn any game on its head and will eye the semi-final as another opportunity to step into the spotlight.
Makazole Mapimpi
There are a number of young guns playing good rugby and always looking to impress, including Mapimpi’s teammate Ethan Hooker, but the veteran World Cup winger remains a deadly finisher and a player to be taken very seriously.
Mapimpi has shown time and again he’s a man for the big occasion. He’ll be keen to have a say in this big URC semi.
Whether it’s under the high ball, chasing kicks or running with the ball, Mapimpi’s a player who the Bulls will have to watch closely.
Aphelele Fassi
One of the country’s brightest stars has had a difficult season, nursing injuries, but Fassi is again fit and healthy and he’ll want to make a big impression in this match, especially with his opposite number, Willie le Roux, in such hot form.
Brilliant under the high ball and as a counter-attacking threat, the Sharks fullback has danger written all over him. The Bulls will do well to keep him out of the action, because if he’s allowed space and time to get his engine properly running, he’ll be a handful.
