Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has chosen to rest Bakkies Botha and play Danie Rossouw alongside Victor Matfield against the Highlanders at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Rossouw, who scored a try off the bench against the Cheetahs last weekend, replaces Bakkies Botha in the only change to the starting line-up. Botha is been rested after badly bruising a foot in that encounter.

Matfield (111 caps) and Rossouw (103 caps) played together as a combination in 11 of the Bulls 2010 matches, including their 50-35 win over the same opponent in last year’s fixture.

Rossouw’s place on the bench will be taken by Juandre Kruger, who will earn a first Super Rugby start should he be used as a replacement. Kruger has just recovered from a broken finger.

Ludeke said they are expecting a massive challenge from the Highlanders, who have won both their opening games.

“The New Zealand side will pose new challenges, as they have a different style to what we have encountered so far in the competition. They like to off-load in the tackle situation and are very competent at the breakdown. They will be a tough nut to crack,” Ludeke said.

Bulls captain, Victor Matfield, expressed his side’s desire to deliver an 80 minute performance in their opening home game, in which the Bulls will be looking for a 19th consecutive win at Loftus Versfeld.

“We are happy with our position on the log, but not with the performances that got us there. We need to play for longer periods and not only produce 40 minutes here and 40 minutes there. This will be a huge challenge, but we trained well. We still need to execute on the day though,” Matfield said.

Bulls

Zane Kirchner , Gerhard van den Heever , Jaco Pretorius , Wynand Olivier , Bjorn Basson , Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez , Pierre Spies , Dewald Potgieter , Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield , Danie Rossouw , Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Ralepelle , Gurthro Steenkamp .

Replacements: Derick Kuün , Rossouw de Klerk, Flip van der Merwe , Juandre Kruger, Ruan Snyman, Francois Brummer , Stephan Dippenaar.