Western Province vs Bulls Prediction: Bulls to hit the ground running

The world’s oldest provincial rugby competition returns this week with Currie Cup action from South Africa to look forward to on Saturday (16:10 kick-off) as Western Province host the Bulls at DHL Stadium.

Alex Jack provides his best bets in his Western Province vs Bulls prediction piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the clash in Cape Town.

Team News

Starting with the hosts, Western Province go with Sti Sithole, Scarra Ntubeni and Cabous Eloff in the front row, with locks Alex Groves and Gary Porter in the engine room.

Skipper Zain Davids, Louw Nel and De Wet Marais start in the back row, while in the half-backs it’s Asad Moos and Kyle Smith who get the nod.

Damian Markus and Luke Burger start in the centres, with Western Province going with a back three of Quewin Nortje, Courtnall Skosan and Shilton van Wyk.

As for the Bulls, they go with Dylan Smith, Joe van Zyl and Francois Klopper in the front row, with Sintu Manjezi and Marvin Orie in the second row.

Junior Pokomela, skipper Nama Xaba and Jeandre Rudolph complete the back row, with Zak Burger and Boeta Chamberlain starting in the half-backs.

Chris Barend Smit and Stedman Gans start in the centres, with Stravino Jacobs, Katlego Letebele and Henry Immelman making up the back three.

Western Province vs Bulls Odds

Western Province are 20/21 to make a winning start to their 2025 Currie Cup campaign, while the Bulls are 5/6 to head back to Pretoria with the victory.

A draw in Cape Town is currently available at 20/1.

Bulls to win @ 5/6

Now a competition used to develop young stars in South African rugby, the Currie Cup used to be the pinnacle of club rugby in the country.

Still, there is plenty of intrigue in both South Africa and abroad in this competition and two heavyweights go head-to-head in this game in Cape Town in what is known as the North-South derby between Western Province and the Bulls.

There should be plenty of spice in this game, especially with former Province star Xaba selected to wear the armband for the Bulls this weekend.

The Province have somewhat struggled in the Currie Cup in recent years and have not reached the playoffs since 2021.

New coach Labeeb Levy has been brought in to try and change this team’s fortunes in the competition but that is likely to take time.

With skipper Davids one of seven players in the starting lineup making their debuts for Western Province, the hosts can be forgiven for being slightly disjointed.

The Bulls have named all their debutants on the bench for Saturday’s showdown, while experienced heads Orie, Burger and Rudolph will be starting from the off.

Skipper Xaba will be demanding his side get one over on this former team and the Bulls look worth siding with to just edge this one at DHL Stadium.

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