Coach Phiwe Nomlomo is expecting a fierce battle at Cape Town Stadium against old foes Western Province on Saturday.
The Vodacom Bulls have a tough assignment, travelling to the Mother City for their Currie Cup opener. But Nomlomo says while he’s expecting some butterflies from his youthful squad, he’s also expecting them to settle quite quickly.
“The players have trained well,” said Nomlomo. “It’s full-on excitement at the minute. There’s a really great vibe in the team, but there will be nerves. I’m not really a nervous guy. I’ll embrace what comes, when it comes.”
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Nomlomo says they’re not looking too deeply into WP’s performance last year, where they ended the campaign seventh with just three wins from their 10 matches.
“We think there’ll be a fair bit of a crowd to be honest, so they’ll have good support. They’ll be full of grit and they’ve got a good mixture. They’ve got U21s, club players, varsity players so I think they’ll be full of really good energy. So we have to be really well prepared for that.”
The 23-man squad for the weekend appears rich with promise, led by breakdown fiend Nama Xaba, who will have experienced players like Marvin Orie, Zak Burger and Jeandre Rudolph to call on.
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The seven debutants are Shaun Schurmann, Jean Erasmus, Jaco Grobbelaar, Dylan de Leeuw, Steven Nel, PA van Niekerk and Marco Ferreira.
YOUR team to face DHL Western Province on Saturday for the first round of the Carling Currie Cup
KICK-OFF: 17:10
DHL STADIUM @Vodacom | @TheCurrieCup #UNCENSORED pic.twitter.com/q0UJKWexGD
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) July 24, 2025
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
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