United Rugby Championship: Bulls v Munster, Loftus Versfel, Saturday, 2.05pm (live on TG4 and Premier Sports)
Munster head coach Johann van Graan makes seven changes to the side that beat Dragons for a game rescheduled from last November when the Irish province's trip to South Africa had to be postponed.
Calvin Nash comes in on the right wing, Rory Scannell replaces Dan Goggin in the centre, while Ben Healy and Neil Cronin form a new halfback pairing. Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer and Alex Kendellen represent the three changes to the pack.
Former Ireland under-20 loosehead prop Mark Donnelly is named in the replacements as is Springbok Damian de Allende, the latter happily recovered from injury. His last game for the province was on New Year's Day.
There are a number of familiar faces in the Bulls team, not least Arno Botha who spent two years at the Irish province before returning to join the Bulls in the summer of 2020. He is in a backrow that also contains former Ulster number eight and Springbok international Marcell Coetzee.
Van Graan said of facing the Jake White coached Bulls: "They are a team that we respect. They are the Currie Cup champions, the best team in South Africa, a team that has played and won a lot of competitions over the last few years."
The Munster head coach explained that they'd been teasing Mark Donnelly about only playing in the big games for Munster, the young prop having played in the Champions Cup win over Wasps. He added that he was really looking forward to seeing how Josh Wycherley and Donnelly, if and when he is introduced, go against a powerful Bulls' scrum.
Factoring in the travel, heat, altitude and the respective team line-ups the bookies have the Bulls as nine-point favourites, but the Irish province might just get something tangible from this game.
BULLS: K-L Arendse; C Hendriks, L Mapoe, H Vorster, M Tambwe; C Smith, E Papier; G Steenekamp, J Grobbelaar, J van Rooyen; W Steenkamp, R Nortje; M Coetzee, A Botha, E Louw. Replacements: B du Plessis, S Matanzima, R Hunt, J Swanepoel, WJ Steenkamp, Z Burger, M Steyn, C Moodie.
MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, C Farrell, R Scannell, S Zebo; B Healy, N Cronin; J Wycherley, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; J O'Donoghue (capt), C Cloete, A Kendellen. Replacements: D Barron, M Donnelly, J Ryan, E O'Connor, J Hodnett, P Patterson, J Crowley, D de Allende.
Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales).
