Handre Pollard flown home as Bulls react to loss with major changes

Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann has retained just five players from the starting XV that lost to Ulster on Saturday for their United Rugby Championship clash with Connacht on Friday in Galway.

South Africa trio, tighthead Wilco Louw, lock Cobus Wiese and wing Canan Moodie, No.8 Jeandre Rudolph and wing Sebastian de Klerk are the five players that have been retained, though Moodie has shifted from outside centre to the wing after the 28-7 loss in Belfast.

Springboks Willie le Roux, Jan Serfontein and Jan-Hendrik Wessels are just three of the players who will come into the starting XV for the contest with Stuart Lancaster’s side.

Wessels’ start at hooker has shifted Johan Grobbelaar to the bench, meaning the captaincy has been handed to lock Reinhardt Ludwig.

After starting in the Bulls’ opening two wins of the season before dropping out of the team for Ulster, Keagan Johannes will start at fly-half again in place of Handre Pollard, who has flown home from the tour for the birth of his second child.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Connacht

27 - 28

Full-time

Bulls

All Stats and Data

Having picked up maximum points in the opening two rounds against the Ospreys and reigning champions Leinster, the Bulls crashed back down to earth at the Affidea Stadium, leaving empty-handed and slipping to sixth place.

They will look to respond to a Connacht side that are also reeling from a round three defeat to Cardiff.

Bulls XV
15 Willie le Roux
14 Canan Moodie
13 David Kriel (VC)
12 Jan Serfontein
11 Sebastian de Klerk
10 Keagan Johannes
9 Paul de Wet
1 Alu Tshakweni
2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
3 Wilco Louw
4 Cobus Wiese
5 Reinhardt Ludwig (C)
6 Nama Xaba
7 JJ Theron
8 Jeandre Rudolph

Replacements
16 Johan Grobbelaar
17 Gerhard Steenekamp
18 Francois Klopper
19 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20 Mpilo Gumede
21 Embrose Papier
22 Harold Vorster
23 Stravino Jacobs