Bulls bring the big guns back

Lock Juandré Kruger and outside centre JJ Engelbrecht will make a return to the Bulls' starting line-up for their Super Rugby crunch encounter with the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Both men started their provincial careers in Cape Town, but have established themselves as real assets to the Bulls team this season.

Kruger swaps places with Wilhelm Steenkamp from the side that lost to the Chiefs in Wellington last weekend, while Engelbrecht moves to outside centre to replace another Capetonian, Johann Sadie - who drops out of the matchday 22 altogether. (Francois Venter takes Engelbrecht’s place on the bench.)

The match against the South African conference leaders will also see Dewald Potgieter earning his 50th cap for the Bulls.

"We have a great opportunity to get back on the winning trail, because we play at home for the first time in six weeks," coach Frans Ludeke said when announcing the team.

"The Stormers has been the form team all season, with outstanding defence and opportunism on attack a hallmark of their success.

"We will need to be creative and patient to break down their defences, but also not give anything away, because they will pounce on mistakes," Ludeke added.

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 CJ Stander, 6 Dewald Potgieter, 5 Juandrè Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 Francois Venter.

Date: Saturday, June 2

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)

TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)