Big Vic gets week off

Victor Matfield will watch on from the stands as the Bulls take on the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Lineout specialist Matfield has been rested after taking on a huge workload while Flip van der Merwe's served a suspension. He is one of three changes, all among the forwards, to the Bulls run-on team.

Jacques Engelbrecht moves off the bench and into the No 8 jersey, while Grant Hattingh has shifted into the second row in Matfield's absence.

In the only other change to the starting XV Marcel van der Merwe will start at tighthead prop, with Werner Kruger playing off the bench.

Louis Fouché will take the place of Handré Pollard on the wood, with the latter having departed for New Zealand where he will captain the Junior Boks.

Bulls – 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Flip van der Merwe (c), 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Morné Mellett, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Wimpie van der Walt, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Louis Fouché, 23 William-Small Smith.

Super Rugby teams (Round 16)

Photo: Barry Aldworth/BackpagePix