JOHANNESBURG - Bulls coach John Mitchell has wasted no time in bringing back Springbok lock Lood de Jager and second row partner RG Snyman to the Bulls starting team to face the Sharks on Saturday.
De Jager missed the Bulls outing against the Stormers due to a calf strain injury while Snyman has not played since suffering a fracture in his face while the Bulls were on tour in New Zealand.
“Both have played very well and have grown as a combination, so I am pleased to have them back again. They bring a nice mix to our skill set and I am expecting them to be influential in the game,” said Mitchell.
The only other change for the Bulls comes on the bench where Junior Springbok scrumhalf Embrose Papier is being replaced by Andre Warner.
“There is nothing wrong with Embrose, he is just being managed. He has had a big workload and so have several other players and we will need to make sure that we manage that going forward,” said Mitchell.
Former Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss will extend his record as the most capped South African player in Super Rugby in his 150th appearance while the Bulls will be looking at extending their five match unbeaten run against the Sharks.
Bulls team:
Warrick Gelant, Johnny Kotze, Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal, Divan Rossouw, Handre Pollard, Ivan van Zyl, Hanro Liebenberg, Thembelani Bholi, Marco van Staden, Lood de Jager, RG Snyman, Trevor Nyakane, Adriaan Strauss, Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: Jaco Visagie, Lizo Gqoboka, Frans van Wyk, Jason Jenkins, Roelof Smit, Andre Warner, Manie Libbok, Duncan Matthews.