Bulls team: Johan Ackermann goes fully-loaded for Glasgow showdown but Willie le Roux drops to bench
Cameron Hanekom and David Kriel both start for the Bulls.
The Bulls have made a handful of rotations to their side that will face Glasgow Warriors in their Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 fixture at Scotstoun on Saturday.
The most significant tweaks made by head coach Johan Ackermann occur in the backline as the South Africans look to improve on last week’s narrow URC win over Munster.
David Kriel comes into the starting line-up and takes the number 15 shirt from veteran Springboks player Willie le Roux, who drops to bench duty for the match in Scotland.
Promoted from bench
Canan Moodie also shifts back to his primary role at outside centre, allowing Cheswill Jooste to step into the wing position after impressing off the bench at Loftus last week.
Consequently, Stedman Gans moves to the bench to offer cover, joining Le Roux and scrum-half Zak Burger as the backline options available to boss Ackermann at Scotstoun.
In the forward pack, there is a notable change to the back-row where explosive young talent Cameron Hanekom is promoted to the starting XV at number eight, providing the Bulls with additional frontline physicality and breakdown presence. He replaces the experienced Nizaam Carr, who suffered an injury against Munster last time out.
The bench also features fresh energy, with Mornay Smith replacing Khuta Mchunu as back-up tighthead prop, while Jeandré Rudolph offers specialised cover in the back-row.
Despite these rotations, the core of the Bulls team does remain consistent. The Springboks half-back pairing of Handré Pollard and Embrose Papier retain their starting roles.
Meanwhile, Marcell Coetzee once again leads the troops from the front in what is anticipated to be a gruelling European knockout contest at the current URC league leaders.
As well as impressing in the URC, Glasgow finished the Investec Champions Cup pool stage on 20 points after collecting four wins out of four under head coach Franco Smith.
Bulls team to face Glasgow
Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Willie le Roux
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (Fra), Julien Caulier (Fra)
TMO: Tual Trainini (Fra)
How to watch: Premier Sports / SuperSport / beIN SPORTS / FloRugby / epcrugby.tv
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