Bulls field new lock pairing

Pretoria - Danie Rossouw and Wilhelm Steenkamp are going to be at lock for the Vodacom Bulls' Super 14 rugby match against the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday, following the unavailability of Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield.

Botha was suspended for three weeks in Sydney on Tuesday because of an incident in last Saturday's match against the Waratahs, while Matfield is back in South Africa for the birth of his second child.

With Matfield in South Africa, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez will again captain the team.

Coach Frans Ludeke recalled hard working hooker Derick Kuun for the clash against the Brumbies and at outside centre JP Nel rotates with Jaco Pretorius.

Ludeke said on Tuesday from Australia it obviously is a big disappointment to play without Matfield and Botha, but the Bulls simply need to adjust to the situation.

"In Super 14 rugby a team must recover from a setback such as this and we will do just that. "We knew Victor won't be available due to the birth of their baby and we support him 100 percent, but Bakkies' unavailability wasn't expected.

"However, Danie Rossouw and Wilhelm Steenkamp must do the job for us and I am fully confident that they will seize the opportunity on Friday."

Ludeke said they will focus a great deal on their set pieces as well as their play at the breakdowns and every single member of the team know it is going to take a special effort from everybody to succeed in Canberra.

"In order to win games on tour a team must produce something special for the full 80 minutes, because anything short of that will not do. We would like to keep improving in the scrums and we must get better and better at the breakdowns.

"Rugby at this level is all about attitude, the will to win and commitment, and you need to be switched on for the whole duration of the match."

Bulls: Zane Kirchner; Akona Ndungane, JP Nel, Wynand Olivier, Bryan Habana; Morn Steyn, Fourie du Preez (captain); Pierre Spies, Pedrie Wannenburg, Dewald Potgieter, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Danie Rossouw, Werner Kruger, Derick Kuun, Gurthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: Jaco Engels, Rayno Gerber, Deon Stegmann, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Heini Adams, Burton Francis, Jaco Pretorius.