Du Preez back to lead Bulls

The Bulls welcome back Springbok scrum-half Fourie du Preez as captain for their clash with the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

The Bulls welcome back scrum-half Fourie du Preez as captain for their clash with the Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.

Substitute last week due to a troublesome hand problem, Springbok Du Preez has fully recovered to diplace young Francois Hougaard from the starting XV as the hosts look to follow up their win over the Waratahs.

Elsewhere, Coach Frans Ludeke has named Morné Steyn at number ten once again, with Derick Hougaard unavailable due to an abcess in his gluteus muscle.

In the centres, Wynand Olivier lines up alongside the recovered JP Nel. There were some concerns that Nel, who injured his hand against the Waratahs, would struggle to make the Brumbies' visit.

However, he as well as Bryan Habana (ankle) and Pierre Spies (shoulder) got the green light from the Bulls' medical team.

Ludeke said at the weekly press conference at Loftus that he is expecting a tough onslaught from the Brumbies especially as they are playing for a spot in the play-offs.

“The Brumbies is a very proud team and they like to keep the ball in hand,” he said.

“Continuity is the key to their game and they are able to keep the ball through a number of phases but they started to kick more in the last two seasons.”

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Jaco Engels, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.