Bulls make only one change to starting XV for Stormers

Bulls director of rugby Jake White has only made one change to the starting XV for their second north-south derby against the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this season, kicking off at 5pm on Saturday.

Nizaam Carr replaces Celimpilo Gumede at No 8 after Gumede hurt his toe against the Lions last week, White told media on the eve of the Stormers game.

Gumede will play from the bench, though. Also in the dugout, hooker Akker van der Merwe replaces Alulutho Tshakweni in a squad that is otherwise unchanged man-for-man since the Bulls beat the Lions 31–19 at Loftus last week to walk away with a bonus point.

A total 35,000 tickets had been sold by Friday morning at the stadium with a capacity of 51,762.

Bulls chase their first URC double over Stormers

The Bulls also won their first URC clash against the Stormers by just one point (final score 33–32) after a nail-biting spectacle in Cape Town on 8 February. The Bulls dominated the scrums but made myriad errors in the second half to allow the Stormers back into the game.

They have never beaten the Stormers twice in a URC season and they will be chasing this first feat since South African teams joined the European tournament in the 2021/22 season.

In nine matches between the sides in the URC, the Stormers have won seven.

Bulls starting XV: Devon Williams, Sebastian de Klerk, Stedman Gans, David Kriel, Canan Moodie, Willie le Roux, Embrose Papier, Nizaam Carr, Reinhardt Ludwig (c), Marco van Staden, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp.

Replacements: Jan-hendrik Wessels, Akker van der Merwe, Francois Klopper, Ruan Vermaak, Celimpilo Gumede, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes, Sergeal Petersen.