The Bulls have made sweeping changes for Saturday’s away United Rugby Championship match against Ulster in Belfast.
Among the most significant is a start for Springbok Handre Pollard, now back in blue after several seasons in the UK. In his previous stint in Pretoria, he played over 70 matches for the Bulls, attaining hero status in the capital.
Pollard was not used by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus in the Boks’ last three Rugby Championship matches, so there was no need for him to be rested, and he slots straight in. After three seasons with Montpellier and three seasons with the Leicester Tigers, Pollard’s experience of northern hemisphere conditions will be invaluable to the Bulls.
The Bulls have never beaten Ulster away.
In all, there are 11 changes — seven in the starting 15 and four on the bench — from last week’s squad that beat champions Leinster in Pretoria. Several are forced by injuries, chiefly to Marcell Coetzee and JF van Heerden.
The seven changes to the line-up are Wilco Louw (for Mornay Smith), Cobus Wiese (for Van Heerden), Marco Staden (for Coetzee), Jeandre Rudolph (for JJ Theron), Zak Burger (for Embrose Papier), Pollard (for Keagan Johannes), and Canan Moodie (for David Kriel).
Similarly, the bench has been shaken up: Jan-Hendrik Wessels (for Alulutho Tshakweni), Reinhardt Ludwig (for Sintu Manjezi), Paul de Wet (for Zak Burger, moved to start), and David Kriel (for Stedman Gans).
In all, there are eight Springboks in the starting line-up, and two more on the bench.
With Coetzee remaining in Pretoria with an injury, the captaincy goes to hooker Johan Grobbelaar.
Bulls team for Ulster
15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar (captain), 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Juann Else, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 David Kriel, 23 Willie le Roux.
