Four Rugby Championship-winning Springboks will start for the Vodacom Bulls against Ulster in Belfast on Saturday.
Tighthead prop Wilco Louw, flank Marco van Staden, flyhalf Handré Pollard and centre Canan Moodie have all been named in the XV for the Bulls’ opening tour match.
It will be Pollard’s first appearance for the Bulls since the 2019 Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes.
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In all, there are 11 changes – seven to the starting XV and four on the bench – from the match 23 that beat champions Leinster in Pretoria last week.
Several are forced by injuries, chiefly to Marcell Coetzee and JF van Heerden.
The changes to the starting side see Louw replace Mornay Smith, Cobus Wiese come in for Van Heerden, Van Staden for Coetzee, Jeandre Rudolph for JJ Theron, Zak Burger for Embrose Papier, Pollard for Keagan Johannes and Moodie for David Kriel.
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On the bench, Jan-Hendrik Wessels replaces Alulutho Tshakweni, Reinhardt Ludwig comes in for Sintu Manjezi, Paul de Wet for Burger, and Kriel drops to the bench for Stedman Gans.
In total, there are eight Springboks in the starting line-up.
BULLS – 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johann Grobbelaar (c), 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 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.
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Pollard leads Bulls’ Bok boost appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Four Rugby Championship-winning Springboks will start for the Vodacom Bulls against Ulster in Belfast on Saturday.
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