Will Kings continue to outshine Bulls?

Pretoria - When the Bulls host the Kings in a Super Rugby clash at Loftus on Saturday it will see two sides with no hopes of making the playoffs locking horns. 

But that doesn't mean there won't be a lot to play for. 

The Kings, unexpectedly, have outshone the Bulls this season. They have won five of their 13 matches for 23 points, placing them ahead of the Bulls on the overall log, who have won four from 13 for 19 points.

It may seem insignificant on the surface, but the Kings will be desperate to finish ahead of the Bulls this year, especially given Friday's news that they will not feature in the 2018 edition of the tournament. 

The Bulls, meanwhile, have been allocated a slot next year despite their disastrous season. 

"I think they've played really good rugby the whole season. They've traveled well and are playing well as a team," Bulls coach Nollis Marais said of the Kings.

"If we want to win we'll have to be on top of our game. They'll want to come here and give us a hiding.

"They'll want to prove a point. The only team that really gave them a hiding this season was the Lions, otherwise it's been difficult for every team against them."

"I think they'll be up for the game."

Captain Adriaan Strauss added that there was still a lot to play for this season.

"There's definitely proud at stake for us because we've lost games at home and that's not good enough for us," he said.

"We want to play good rugby at Loftus, we want to win and we need to get that pride back here."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:15.

Teams:

Bulls

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Duncan Matthews, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Nic de Jager, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 John-Roy Jenkinson, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Shaun Adendorff, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Burger Odendaal

Kings

15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Lionel Cronje (captain), 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Mzamo Majola 

Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Masixole Banda, 23 Yaw Penxe