Of the Bulls old guard, only Francois Hougaard, now at scrumhalf, flank Deon Stegmann and props Werner Kruger and Dean Greyling remain in the starting line-up that was announced on Thursday to run out in Bloemfontein and start a new era under Marais for the once-proud franchise.
Five players – fullback Warrick Gelant, wing Travis Ismaiel, eighthman Hanro Liebenberg, lock Marvin Orie and hooker Jaco Visagie – will be making their Currie Cup debuts, with four other rookies on the bench – prop Nqobi Mxoli, lock RG Snyman, scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl and centre Dries Swanepoel.
On top of all the changes in personnel, Marais is also trying to introduce a new style of play for the Bulls and obviously there will be mistakes on Saturday.
“A lot of very good players have been waiting for a chance and there’s a lot of energy and excitement in the team. But it takes longer than five weeks to get the old habits out, so it’s going to be a continuous process.
