Bulls coach Frans Ludeke (File)

Pretoria - Bulls coach Frans Ludeke’s squad for Friday’s first Super 14 fixture in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs is almost an exact replica to the side that won the Currie Cup last year.

There are, however, a couple of new faces in the starting line-up with Gary Botha returning at hooker after a stint overseas and young Francois Hougaard given the responsibility of filling Bryan Habana’s boots on the wing. Habana has joined the Stormers.

Other minor adjustments the Super 14 champions made during the off season include bringing in tighthead prop Bees Roux as back-up for Werner Kruger with hooker Derick Kuun reverting back to playing flank.

Lock Flip van der Merwe also stands to earn his first Bulls cap should he be called upon on Friday.

The Bulls acquired the services of Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter who is likely to be utilised at both flyhalf and inside centre during the tournament.

The only real surprise inclusion was that of the versatile Stephan Dippenaar on the bench instead of trusty stalwart John Mametsa.

"We are in the fortunate position that continuity plays a huge role here at the Bulls so we only had to make small adjustments," Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said at the team announcement.

Unlike most other teams, the Bulls opted to play only one warm-up match. "We thought only one warm-up game is enough as the Super 14 is a tough and testing competition," said Ludeke.

"I am satisfied with the way we played in Polokwane and if we thought we needed more game time we would have made a plan during the week," he added.

In a big boost to their campaign aspirations, Ludeke also included a number of star players who had been sidelined though injury in recent months.

Specialist ball-carrier Pierre Spies and fellow Springboks Wynand Olivier and Danie Rossouw will be starting against the Cheetahs.

"It is great to have guys like Wynand and Pierre back and all credit must go to the medical team for their endeavours," said Ludeke.

As for their first contest against the last team they faced in 2009, Ludeke yet again reaffirmed that there are no secrets when they face their Bloemfontein neighbours although he admitted that both sides will be bringing some variations to the opener.

"The reason it is always a clash when the Bulls play the Cheetahs is that both teams try to get control up front, but from our perspective it is the start of a new season so there are a number of vital areas where we will have to be accurate if we want to get off to a good start," said Ludeke.

Teams:

Bulls:

15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Gerhard van den Heever, 13-Jaco Pretorius, 12-Wynand Olivier, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Fourie du Preez, 8-Pierre Spies, 7-Pedrie Wannenburg, 6-Deon Stegmann, 5-Victor Matfield (captain), 4-Danie Rossouw, 3-Werner Kruger, 2-Gary Botha, 1-Gurthro Steenkamp

Replacements: 16-Bandise Maku, 17-Bees Roux, 18-Flip vd Merwe, 19-Derick Kuun, 20-Heini Adams, 21-Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22-Stephan Dippenaar

Cheetahs:

15-Riaan Viljoen, 14-Lionel Mapoe, 13-Corné Uys, 12-Meyer Bosman, 11-Jongi Nokwe, 10-Naas Olivier, 9-Tewis de Bruyn, 8-Ashley Johnson, 7-Juan Smith (captain), 6-Heinrich Brüssow, 5-David de Villiers, 4-Nico Breedt, 3-WP Nel, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Wian du Preez

Substitutes: 16-Ryno Barnes, 17-Coenie Oosthuizen, 18-Walti Vermeulen, 19-Frans Viljoen, 20-Sarel Pretorius, 21-Sias Ebersohn, 22-Danwel Demas