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Pretoria - Regular Bulls lock combination, RG Snyman and Lood de Jager, will reunite in Durban on Saturday when the Bulls will lock horns with the Sharks in Round Seven of Super Rugby.
Snyman last played for the Bulls in Hamilton a month ago and De Jager in Christchurch three weeks ago before injury broke up the partnership that played together so impressively in the opening four rounds of the competition.
With his premier lock pairing available for selection again, Bulls coach, John Mitchell, moved Jason Jenkins to the bench and Ruben van Heerden out of the match 23 for this important clash.
He also recalled a fit-again Andre Warner, who will replace Embrose Papier as back-up scrumhalf.
"We have all to play for," said Mitchell when he named his team in Pretoria on Thursday.
"One thing we can bank on is that this will require a huge effort from our side if we want to beat the Sharks at home. They will not make it easy for us or allow us to rule the game. This will be hard work and we need to be prepared for that."
The coach welcomed back the lock pairing.
"Both has played very well and has grown as a combination, so I am pleased to have both back again. They bring a nice mix to our skill set and I am expecting them to be influential in the match," he said.
Bulls captain, Burger Odendaal, said they could not afford to lose momentum again during the next couple of weeks.
"We started well, then lost our way and with us bouncing back nicely against the Stormers, it is time to kick on. The week's rest has done all of us well, so we are keen to go and record a win in Durban. We have the players and the game plan to be very competitive against a strong Sharks team," he said.
Teams:
Sharks
15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Ruan Botha (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Daniel du Preez, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Kobus van Wyk
Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Duncan Mathews
