Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss will make Vodacom Super Rugby history when he leads the Bulls against his former team Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening at 7.15pm.
He is set to become the most capped South African hooker in the history of the competition when he runs out for his 132nd match. The 30-year-old Bok captain will move past fellow Bok hooker Bismarck du Plessis, who played all of his 131 Vodacom Super Rugby matches for the Sharks.
The Bulls are still in the hunt for a playoff slot. The Pretoria outfit must however depend on the Sunwolves upsetting the Sharks, while they must beat the Cheetahs in their crunch encounter in Bloemfontein.
The Sharks (39) are currently two points ahead of the Vodacom Bulls in the race for the local wildcard spot.
Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has made several changes to his side to face the Vodacom Bulls. Charles Marais will be starting as loosehead prop, replacing Ox Nche while Armandt Koster comes in at lock for Carl Wegner.
Flank Oupa Mohoje will be taking over the captaincy from Francois Venter who sustained concussion against the Sharks last weekend in Durban.
Ryno Benjamin is chosen on the bench, making his return to Vodacom Super Rugby after a lengthy absence because of injury.
Meanwhile Bulls coach Nollis Marais has made two changes to his starting team. Flyhalf Tian Schoeman gets a start for the Pretoria side while Marcel van der Merwe returns at tighthead prop.
Both were on the bench against the Sunwolves last weekend and they swap places with Francois Brummer and Werner Kruger respectively.
In the only change to the bench hooker Bandise Maku comes in for Jaco Visagie.
The Bulls have won 14 of their last 16 games against the Bloemfontein side, though five of the last seven encounters between these teams have been decided by margins of fewer than seven points.
The Cheetahs have won five of their last nine home games against South African opposition, with a win and a loss against the Bulls in that span.
The men from Pretoria haven’t come back from a halftime deficit to win a game since Round 12, 2014 – against the Cheetahs.
Teams: Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Oupa Mohoje (captain), 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Maks van Dyks, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Rayno Benjamin.
Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Travis Ismaiel, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Nqoba Mxoli, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Grant Hattingh, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 SP Marais.
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Lourens van der Merwe
TMO: Johan Greeff
Other fixtures, Friday:
Blues vs Waratahs, Eden Park, Auckland
Reds vs Melbourne Rebels, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Saturday:
Crusaders vs Hurricanes, AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Highlanders vs Chiefs, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Brumbies vs Force, GIO Stadium, Canberra
South Africa Today Sport – Rugby News