Bulls mix it up for Aus tour

The Bulls will face the Western Force (April 29), Brumbies (May 6) and the Waratahs (May 14) Down Under before returning to Loftus Versfeld to face the Stormers on May 21.

The surprise ommissions from the squad are Springboks Deon Stegmann and Bjorn Basson.

The veteran flanker, Stegmann, returned from injury two weeks ago and was on the bench in the Bulls' 41-22 win over the Reds on Saturday, but Marais has backed young openside flank Roelof Smit to provide cover for Pieter Labuschagne during the tour.

The majority of the squad has already seen action in this year's Super Rugby competition with Hanro Liebenberg and Dries Swanepoel returning from Currie Cup and Varsity Cup duty respectively, while the Kriel twins, Jesse and Daniel Kriel, have both been included the 27-man squad.

The Bulls have won five of their sevens games, with one loss and one draw, and Marais emphasised the importance of bagging as many points as possible on the tour.

“Touring is never easy, and for many in the squad it will be a first Super Rugby tour to Australia," said Marais. 

"It’s important for us not to focus on the travel but rather the task at hand, and that’s to pick up points abroad. 

"We’ll be looking to continue the momentum we have managed to build over the last few weeks, and we also know that we owe our supporters a good showing while on tour.” 

Bulls touring squad:

Forwards: Trevor Nyakane, Lizo Gqoboka, Pierre Schoeman, Marcel van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Bandise Maku, Jaco Visagie, Jason Jenkins, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Pieter Labaschagne, Jannes Kirsten, Arno Botha, Roelof Smit, Hanro Liebenberg.

Backs: Piet van Zyl, Rudi Paige, Francois Brummer, Tian Schoeman, Jan Serfontein, Jesse Kriel, Daniel Kriel, Dries Swanepoel, Jamba Ulengo, Travis Ismaiel, SP Marais.