Bulls opt for continuity

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has named an unchanged starting XV for the match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The only change to the squad comes on the bench, where Piet van Zyl is reinstated as the reserve scrumhalf.

The Bulls picked up their first win of the season at the weekend and will be looking to build on that positive result at the Free State Stadium.

'We finally found the momentum we were looking for in the opening rounds of the competition against the Sharks and managed four tries,' said Ludeke following the team announcement.

'We will need the confidence and rhythm picked up on the weekend against the Cheetahs. They are one of the early front runners and will be full of self-belief.

'I am happy to name the same team. This is not only a vote of confidence, but we are also blessed with no injuries, something that hampered our consistency in the first couple of weeks.'

Bulls – 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Mornè Mellett.
Subs: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Grant Hattingh, 20 Hanro Liebenberg, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Piet van Zyl, 23 Jürgen Visser.

Super Rugby teams (Round 4)

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images