Jake White caused a slight surprise when he selected a starting line-up with only one change to take on Saracens at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in the first round of the Investec European Champions Cup (formerly known as Heineken Cup) tournament.

After previous statements by White, in which he mentioned that the United Rugby Championship (URC) is the Bulls’ main focus during the European season, it was expected that he would rest many players for the battle against Saracens.

However, White surprised with almost the same starting fifteen that messed with the Sharks at Loftus last week. The only change is the return of Ruan Vermaak at lock in place of Reinhardt Ludwich.

Only two changes were made on the bench, with regular captain Marcel Coetzee returning from his suspension due to a red card in the match against Edinburgh three weeks ago. The other change on the bench is Sergeal Petersen, who replaces Sebastian de Klerk.

Saracens have already won this tournament (the European Rugby Champions Cup) three times (in the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons), while in the 2013/14 season they lost in the final against Toulon from France.

This English Super club is also the current English Premier League champion, a tournament they have won six times since the 2010/11 season.

White is playing his cards close to his chest, but his team selection suggests he is likely to give himself a chance in this competition hoping for wins in the home games and perhaps a breakthrough in one of the two away games.

The Bulls will play away against Lyon in France next week, after which they will play again on 13 January 2024 in England against the Bristol Bears. Their league fixtures conclude with a home game against Bordeaux at Loftus Versfeld on 20 January 2024.

Then follows the knockout phase, with the round of 16 during the first weekend of April 2024.

Saturday night’s game against Saracens kicks off at 19:30pm. It is therefore an evening game and this fact will slightly dampen one of the Bull’s biggest allies, the current heat wave in Pretoria.

BULLS XV vs SARACENS: 1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4.  Ruan Vermaak, 5. Janko Swanepoel, 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Elrigh Louw (c), 8. Cameron Hanekom, 9. Embrose Papier, 10. Johan Goosen, 11. Canan Moodie, 12. David Kriel, 13. Stedman Gans, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15. Willie le Roux

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Deon Slabbert, 20. Marcell Coetzee, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Jaco van der Walt, 23. Sergeal Petersen.

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