Vodacom bulls
South Africans take knee, vow to reject racism as season reopens
The Bulls defeated the Sharks 49-28 and the Stormers overcame the Lions 34-21 behind closed doors in warm-up matches between the four Super Rugby teams from the...
The Bulls opened the score in the eighth minute with a breakaway try from scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who ran from his own 22 to score in the corner after Province had been on the attack.
The pivot missed the last two matches on tour due to injury, but returns in a much-changed back line from the one that drew against the Blues last week.
Regular skipper, Handré Pollard will miss this clash due to a calf strain picked up in training earlier this week, and will return to South Africa.
Replacing the injured Warrick Gelant at 15 will be Divan Rossouw who comes straight into the starting line-up at fullback.
The Vodacom Super Rugby 2019 draw has been concluded and a North-South derby between the Bulls and the Stormers headlines the opening weekend on 16 February at Loftus.
The burly loose-forward has been linked with the Pretoria franchise for several months since his departure from French Top 14 giants Toulon.
The Bulls will be hoping to end a lacklustre campaign off on a high after missing out on a playoff spot.
Coach John Mitchell has opted to keep the young side that lost 42-37 to the Sunwolves in Singapore last weekend.
Jamba Ulengo is back at wing, Hanro Liebenberg at no 8 and Jannes Kirsten makes a first appearance this season on the side of the scrum.
Adriaan Strauss captained the Vodacom Bulls in 2016 and 2017 and was also appointed as the Springbok captain in 2016, becoming the 56th captain of the national team.
Handre Pollard will lead the Vodacom Bulls in Buenos Aires when they take on the Jaguares in their crucial Super Rugby clash at Estadio Jose Amalfitani.
Ismaiel, a regular starter for the team this year, missed three weeks of action due to injury and played off the bench in the last two matches against the Highlanders and Stormers.
Jenkins will move off the bench to flank in place of injured Roelof Smit, resulting in a re-shuffled loose trio. on.
The Blue Bulls have altered their loose forward combination for their encounter with the Queensland Reds at Loftus Versveld on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Bulls beat the Sharks 40-10 in the only South African Super Rugby game at Johnsons Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
The game was played in cold and wet conditions and both sides initially struggled to contend, making numerous handling errors in a scrappy affair.
Tim Agaba will make his starting debut for the Blue Bulls in one of three changes to the starting line-up when they take on the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday morning.
Bulls head coach John Mitchell made several changes to the team that came up short against the Reds in Brisbane, with the return of Odendaal the most significant.