
Marcell Coetzee takes over the Bulls captaincy for Saturday's PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA decider against the Sharks in Durban.
Coetzee moves from flank to No 8 in place of regular skipper Duane Vermeulen, who has undergone ankle surgery.
Ruan Nortje shifts to blindside flank, opening up space for lock Janko Swanepoel to start in the engine room.
Nortje's move to the side of the scrum is a result of the injury to Elrigh Louw, with Marco van Staden covering openside flank.
The rest of the Bulls starting line-up remains unchanged from the one which edged the Stormers 31-27 in Pretoria last weekend.
Springbok Nizaam Carr and Junior Springbok Muller Uys have received call ups to take the places of Swanepoel and Van Staden on the bench respectively.
The trip to Durban marks the end of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA regular season, with the Bulls going into the game in pole position to contest the North v South final.
"We have approached this match as if it were a semi-final. Nothing less than a win is good enough. The boys need no further motivation and despite a few injuries, come Saturday we will be focused and determined to execute our plan," director of rugby Jake White said.
The Bulls currently top the standings on 20 points, with the Sharks second on 16.
In order to pip the men from Pretoria to the post, the Durbanites need a clear bonus point win, while not allowing the Bulls to score four tries or come within seven points of them.
A four point win won't be enough for the Sharks as the Bulls have a significantly better points differential (+54 compared to the -14 of the Sharks).
Saturday's clash at Kings Park kicks off at 18:15.
?? TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT ??
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) June 10, 2021
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Teams:
Sharks
TBA
Bulls
15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 7 Ruan Nortje, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Muller Uys, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Gio Aplon