Bulls unchanged for Loftus

Pretoria - Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke named an unchanged side for Saturday's vital Absa Currie Cup rugby clash against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.

The same 22 that came so close to victory against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last weekend, will again take the field, with Flip van der Merwe (neck), Dean Greyling (hand), Jaco Pretorius (thigh) and Jaco van der Westhuyzen (knee) all recovering from strains picked up in that match.

Deon Stegmann (hamstring), Fudge Mabeta (shoulder), Dewald Potgieter (knee), Frik Kirsten (chest) and Bandise Maku (shoulder) have not been considered, with Gurthro Steenkamp still being rested after his long international season.

Ludeke said the players realise the importance of this match.

"A win could move us back into the top three. It will be tough though, as the Lions certainly have their tails up after five consecutive wins.

"I am happy we focused on the right areas during our preparation this week."

Blue Bulls: 15. Zane Kirchner; 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Stefan Watermeyer, 11. Jaco van der Westhuyzen; 10. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9. Francois Hougaard; 8. Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7. CJ Stander, 6. Derick Kuun (c), 5. Juandre Kruger, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Dean Greyling

Replacements: 16. Gary Botha, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Jaco Engels, 19. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20. Okkie Kruger, 21. Dustin Jinka, 22. Stephan Dippenaar

Lions

TBA