Bulls flanker Derick Kuün will captain the Bulls in their 1st pre-season friendly against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
SuperSport
Kuün will lead what is expected to be a largely second string team which will be made up of players who will be returning from injury, those on the fringe of selection and a few of the new faces.
The Bulls will wait to hear what happens in the disciplinary hearing for Boks Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson who returned positive samples from drug tests before naming the team.
Looking ahead to the game Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said he was “excited to see what the team would do”, especially since the new Super Rugby format will bring a far greater need for depth.
“It is important to give all the players in these two games as close to 80 minutes as possible,” he said.
“We will obviously rotate players where necessary and we will be looking at the execution of things we have practised.”
“It will be good to see where we stand and the only place you can test that is in a game situation,” Ludeke said.
If Ralepelle escapes sanction for the failed drug test he will most likely be named in the team.
Midfielder Jaco Pretorius is only expected to be named for the second match but Bok winger Akona Ndungane could make the team sheet as he takes another step towards his comeback from two broken legs in two years.