Bulls sweat over their captain

With the exception of a few long-term injuries, both sides are at near full-strength for the Loftus Versfeld showdown.

The Bulls emerged from their victory over the Hurricanes at the weekend relatively unscathed - with only a few players nursing bumps and bruises, with the majority of the squad in good shape.

There are also no serious injuries in the Lions camp after their demolition of the Jaguares.

Bulls captain Burger Odendaal is nursing a bruised rib, while Warrick Gelant is responding well to his knee niggle.

A decision on both players will be made later in the week.

Jannes Kirsten and Rudy Paige are busy with their respective rehabilitation programmes and should be cleared next week.

Jamba Ulengo, Franco Naude and Ruan Steenkamp remain on the long-term injury list.

On a positive note, Aston Fortuin, Jason Jenkins and Tim Agaba have recovered from their respective injuries and will be available for selection this week.