The Pretoria-based side are full of Bok players who recently toured with the national team in Europe.
Bulls boss Johan Ackermann has picked seven Springboks in his starting team, including Handré Pollard at flyhalf, and a further six on the bench, for the team’s opening match in this season’s Champions Cup.
The Bulls take on the winners from last season, Bordeaux-Begles, at Loftus on Saturday in one of the biggest matches of the opening round.
Pollard, fresh off a Springbok tour of Europe and only months after rejoining the Bulls from his stint playing in England, will be tasked to steer the Pretoria team to an opening round victory.
The other Boks in the starting team are Akker van der Merwe, Cobus Wiese, Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee, who’ll lead the team from No 8, Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux.
Bok bench
It is, however, the 6-2 split on the bench that Ackermann has put together that will make Bordeaux sit up and take notice.
Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw are powerhouse Bok front-rankers, while Ruan Nortjé, Elrigh Louw and Embrose Papier are the other Boks who’ll be asked to make a late impact.
Bordeaux beat Northampton in last season’s final and will be gunning for a repeat performance.
SA-born forward, 21-year-old Tiaan Jacobs, who plays for the French side, told AFP his side were anticipating a huge clash in Pretoria.
“We have the motivation of being title-holders and wanting to keep that status,” Jacobs said on Thursday.
“I think that nothing will stop us even if it’s going to be a very tough first 20 minutes against the Bulls.
“They’re going to come out hard and firing.
“The Bulls are a really physical side and Loftus Versfeld, better known as the Bull Ring, is a tough place to play.”
Bulls team: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian de Klerk, Handré Pollard, Paul de Wet, Marcell Coetzee (capt), Reinhardt Ludwig, Marco van Staden, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese, Mornay Smith, Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni. Bench: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortjé, Elrigh Louw, Jeandré Rudolph, Embrose Papier, Stravino Jacobs
