PRETORIA – Springboks Trevor Nyakane and Jacques Potgieter have made a return to the Bulls starting line-up ahead of their clash against the Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Nyakane, along with Jan Serfontein, missed out on the Bulls’ last game against the Cheetahs due to a mandatory rest while Potgieter comes back from a concussion injury.
Serfontein will start on the bench with Burger Odendaal and Jesse Kriel being the preferred midfield pairing while Warrick Gelant retains his place at fullback along with wings Jamba Ulengo and Travis Ismaiel.
Potgieter will bring in much needed experience to a Bulls pack that is led by former Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss while Springbok lock Lood de Jager continues his second row partnership with Jason Jenkins.
"We have certainly had some classics here against the Crusaders. We do have the ability to bring out the best in each other and these are the type of games you want to be involved in. We know what is at stake and everyone is very keen to deliver a performance that we all can be proud of. We enjoyed the bye last weekend, but now it is time to go out there and deliver the goods,” said Strauss.
Bulls team: Warrick Gelant, Travis Ismaiel, Jamba Ulengo, Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal, Tian Schoeman, Piet van Zyl, Hanro Liebenberg, Jacques Potgieter, Nick de Jager, Lood de Jager, Jason Jenkins, Trevor Nyakane, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: Jaco Visagie, Lizo Gqoboka, Jacobie Adriaanse, RG Snyman, Jannes Kirsten, Rudy Paige, Francois Brummer, Jan Serfontein.