13/02/2008 15:29

Pretoria - The top try scorer in last year's Currie Cup, John Mametsa, will play wing for the Bulls against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.

According to the Bulls' website, Mametsa will play in a back three together with Zane Kirchner and Bryan Habana and he is determined to excel in his first Super 14 game.

Coach Frans Ludeke opted for two openside flanks in Wikus van Heerden and Deon Stegmann because he believes the breakdown is going to be crucial under the new laws.

Ludeke mentioned that in their warm-up match against the Lions in Windhoek they had three scrums, 22 lineouts and more than 150 rucks.

Captain Fourie du Preez thinks the players will take more chances under the new laws at the breakdown because if the referee penalises them, they will only concede a free-kick and not a penalty.

"If the referee doesn't see what is happening at the bottom of the ruck and a player succeeds to do something illegal, he wins possession for his team. That is way I believe players will take more chances in the Super 14."

Du Preez said they are getting use to the new laws but he thinks it will take a number of weeks to see the full impact of it on the game.

"We played two matches under the news laws and we learned on both occasions. The second game was much easier regarding the laws but we will definitely watch the games on Friday to see if we can pick up any trends."

Danie Rossouw and Wilhelm Steenkamp have been picked at lock and although Ludeke did not select a lock on the bench, he believes Pedrie Wannenburg provides adequate cover.

"Pedrie played lock in a Currie Cup final and if we pick up an injury we can always use short lineouts. With Bakkies Botha on the injury list we are obviously thin at lock but I don't foresee any problems for Saturday."

Bulls:

Zane Kirchner, John Mametsa, JP Nel, Wynand Olivier, Bryan Habana, Derick Hougaard, Fourie du Preez (captain), Pedrie Wannenburg, Wikus van Heerden, Deon Stegmann, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Danie Rossouw, Rayno Gerber, Derick Kuun, Gurthro Steenkamp.

Reserves: James van der Walt, Jaco Engels, Werner Kruger, Dewald Potgieter, Heini Adams, Morne Steyn, Marius Delport.