Glasgow Warriors v Bulls: Prediction, teams, kick-off time, how to watch and referee
Glasgow Warriors winger Kyle Steyn and Bulls flyer Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Franco Smith and Johan Ackermann have named their teams for the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash between Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls at Scotstoun Stadium in round five of the competition.
The two sides head into the fixture having won three of their opening four games of the new URC season, with Glasgow two points ahead of the men from Pretoria, having picked up double the number of bonus points.
Glasgow Warriors team
Smith has welcomed the return of Scotland international Jack Dempsey, who is set to make his first Glasgow appearance since January.
He will line up at number eight, meaning that Matt Fagerson shifts to the openside flank, with Gregor Brown lining up at blindside after a Player of the Match-winning performance against the Dragons a fortnight ago.
Why Scotland star believes ‘f–king tough’ Six Nations is ‘harder’ to win than the World Cup
The second-row features Max Williamson and Scott Cummings as part of an all-international pack with Jamie Bhatti and Murphy Walker starting either side of hooker Johnny Matthews.
George Horne and Adam Hastings are the starting halfbacks, while Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall continue their partnership in the midfield. Kyle Steyn and Kyle Rowe start on the wings with Josh McKay returning at full-back.
Smith has backed a 6-2 split on the bench for the clash with the forward replacements being Seb Stephen, Nathan McBeth, Sam Talakai, Alex Samuel, Euan Ferrie and Alex Craig. The backline cover is Ben Afshar and Dan Lancaster.
Unavailable for selection: Rory Darge (knee), Zander Fagerson (knee), Gregor Hiddleston (ankle), Huw Jones (ankle), Duncan Munn (shoulder), Charlie Savala (knee), Grant Stewart (foot), Tavi Tuipulotu (knee), Sione Vailanu (knee).
Bulls team
Bulls boss Ackermann has made eight positional changes to his lineup for the testing trip to Glasgow as he welcomes the return of several Springboks, including captain Ruan Nortje.
Nortje will pack down in the second-row alongside fellow Bok Cobus Wiese. Ackermann has overhauled his starting front-row with Gerhard Steenekamp and Mornay Smith flanking hooker Johan Grobbelaar.
Marcell Coetzee returns to the run-on team in the number six jumper with Reinhardt Ludwig shifting from the second-row to the side of the scrum, completing the loose trio with Jeandre Rudolph at number eight.
Springboks: Handre Pollard and his wife have special reason to celebrate ahead of upcoming tour
There are a further two changes in the backline as Canan Moodie drops out of the 23 and is replaced on the wing by Stravino Jacobs, while Embrose Papier starts at scrum-half with Paul de Wet dropping to the bench.
Papier partners Keagan Johannes in the halfbacks. Jan Serfontein was initially named in the starting lineup alongside David Kriel but has since been scratched, with Harold Vorster taking over after complaints of a stiff neck. Sebastian de Klerk starts on the right wing with Willie le Roux at full-back.
Juann Else, Etienne Janneke, Francois Klopper, JJ Theron and Nama Xaba are the five replacement forwards. Kurt-Lee Arendse is set for his first appearance of the season from the bench, adding backline cover with De Wet and Stedman Gans.
Glasgow Warriors v Bulls
Prediction: Glasgow by 10.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Etienne Janneke, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 JJ Theron, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Kurt-Lee Arendse
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.45 IRE & UK / 20.45 ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU 71st league game)
Assistant Referees: Mike Adamson (SRU), Ru Campbell (SRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
READ MORE: Winless Sharks double down on Springboks-heavy team with Eben Etzebeth twist for Scarlets showdown
