You can bet it will be third time lucky for Pirates

February 26 - Will it be third time lucky for Pirates when they meet the Naka Bulle in Pretoria on Saturday? You can bet on it, even without captain Willem van der Wal in the second round of the Assupol Super 16 series. The website Suparugby.com reports that Pirates have included former junior Lions flanker Gustav Coetzee on the side of the scrum to compensate for Van der Wal’s absence. The talented Roy Cohen will again be packing down at eight. The Greenside side has not beaten Naka Bulle in their two fixtures in the past seasons, but Pirates would be very confident after last weekend’s start against Springs, while the men from Pretoria went down to Vereeniging. Pirates have also included former Tukkies winger André van der Merwe, who used his opportunity in the thirds last weekend to impress coach Neil Kalify. Also in the Pirates team for the first time this season is former Leopards hooker Sydney Raaths and big Charl Fourie, who also staked a claim last weekend. Kalify emphasised that these games in the Super 16 are also regarded as trials and are an opportunity for the players on the fringe of the firsts. Prop forward Steph de Beer will lead the team in Van der Wal’s absence with Shane Meyer, Cor van Tonder, Coenie Viljoen, Charl Ludick, Roger Trend and Warren Steyn all on the bench. Pirates v Naka Bulls: Willem Slabbert; Jason Kobrowisky, Pakisa Snyman, Morné Booysen, André van der Merwe; Ross Smith, Willem Kloppers; Roy Cohen, Gustav Coetzee, Louwtjie de Jongh, Graham Knight, Nqubeko Zulu, Steph de Beer (capt.), Sydney Raaths, Charl Fourie.