Bulls back Pollard at 10

Handré Pollard has been reinstated in the Bulls starting line-up for this Saturday's clash against the Stormers at Newlands.

Pollard was one of the stars at the recent Junior World Championship in New Zealand, and also impressed in his debut for the Springboks in Port Elizabeth last week. He replaces Jacques-Louis Potgieter, who started at flyhalf in the Bulls' last game against the Lions.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has named Victor Matfield to lead the team at Newlands. It was hoped that Matfield would be rested, but the Bulls have lost their regular skipper, Flip van der Merwe, to a long term injury.

Ludeke has made four changes and a positional switch to the starting team. Matfield and Paul Willemse will start in the second row, Pollard at flyhalf, and Werner Kruger at tighthead prop. Grant Hattingh will move from lock to No 8 while Jacques Engelbrecht will start at flank in the absence of the injured Jacques du Plessis.

Bulls – 15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Grant Hattingh 7 Jacques Engelbrecht, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Morné Mellett, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Jacques-Louis Potgieteré, 23 William Small-Smith.

Photo: Marty Mellville/AFP Photo

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