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'Tahs brace for Bulls maul

Cape Town - The Waratahs know what to expect from the Bulls when the two teams meet in a Super Rugby clash in Sydney on Saturday.

The Waratahs came unstuck against a physical Force outfit in Perth last week and assistant coach Nathan Grey said they must be ready for something similar this week.

“The Bulls are a proposition not too dissimilar to the Force - a South African-based style side - who are going to threaten us at the lineout,” Grey told the Sydney Morning Herald website.

“They are going to challenge us with their driving maul. They are very open about that.”

The men from Sydney are confident in their attack, having averaged 129.3 carries per game - the most of any side - and the third best of 490.3 total metres.

The Bulls, on the other hand, have the second worst average of 91.1 carries per game and the lowest of 298.8 metres, but Grey is still wary of the threat they pose.

He singled out Bulls midfielders, Jan Serfontein and JJ Engelbrecht, as well as halfbacks, Francois Hougaard and Piet van Zyl, as being danger-men. Hougaard is again out of position on the wing this week in place of the injured Akona Ndungane.

The Bulls currently occupy eighth spot on the overall log, while the Waratahs lie fifth.

Saturday's clash kicks off at 11:40 (SA time).

Teams:

Waratahs:

15 Israel Folau, 14 Cam Crawford, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Dave Dennis (captain), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson

Substitutes: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Pat McCutcheon, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Matt Carraro.

Bulls:

15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Grant Hattingh, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe (captain), 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling

Substitutes: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Paul Willemse, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht, 20 William Small-Smith, 21 Handré Pollard, 22 Rudy Paige, 23 Morné Mellet

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