The Bulls have made a host of changes to their team for Saturday’s clash against Ulster, most significantly naming Handre Pollard at 10 as he makes his comeback to the Pretoria-based side after several seasons abroad.
With several other Springboks back in the mix, the Bulls will be overwhelming favourites against Ulster, even if the Irish side has the benefit of home ground advantage.
However, Ulster will have their sights set on building on their 42-21 win against the Dragons in their opening match before the postponement of their encounter against Edinburgh last week.
But what will boost the visitors’ motivation is the fact that their only defeat in their last 11 matches in the URC was in last year’s final against Leinster – a track record they will look to build on going into this match.
Ulster will have to be in top form on defence, as the Bulls boast the best attack in the competition by far, with 92 points scored in their first two matches. On the flip side, they have conceded 71 points, which is a statistic the hosts will look to take advantage of.
Kick off is at 20:45 (SA time).
Live scoring: Bulls v Ulster
Match information
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Nicolaas Janse v Rensburg, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar (captain), 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 David Kriel, 23 Willie le Roux
Date: Saturday, October 11
Venue: Affidea Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 20:45 SA Time
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland) & Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
