The Vodacom Bulls will give all their Springboks their first run against the Jaguares in their pre-season match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with most getting around 35 minutes of play as they return to the field after the off-season.
Coach John Mitchell has resisted the urge to use his Springboks - all except Lood de Jager - for the pre-season games against the Stormers and Sharks thus far, but will now give every Japanese-based returnee and the Boks game time in order to get them back into the mix for their season opener against the Hurricanes on 24 February.
Mitchell named a massive squad for the game, with the team sheet being split into two - the fringe players captained by De Jager, by virtue of his appearance against the Stormers, playing for 45 minutes, and then the Boks and others that will play for the final 35 minutes.
The game, to be played on Loftus' B-field at 5pm, will give the Bulls a stern test of their abilities and allow Mitchell to take stock of his resources ahead of a challenging season.
The run-on squad will also include Marnitz Boshoff and Trevor Nyakane, who will start at loosehead and not his regular tighthead spot.
The extended bench will also boast a host of Springboks, including Warrick Gelant, Jesse Kriel and Handre Pollard. The match will see a return to action for the likes of Gelant, Pollard and Kriel, who toured with the Springboks to Europe in November. Jason Jenkins, who returned from Japanese club duties, will also be eager to get a bit of game time off the bench.
"We need to give everyone a proper run and I think this will be a good test for the side," Mitchell said.
"The approach to this will pretty much be about ourselves and what we want to achieve, but one has to acknowledge that the Jaquares will be a very good test. They have some very good players that will test our guys individually, and also some pretty impressive set pieces and plays, something that will put our structures and processes to a good test."
Mitchell explained that the plan wasn't to have the Boks back in action yet, but the cancellation of their game against the Stormers in America had brought the timeline forward.
"We just basically adjusted the plan - we weren't planning on playing the test players and Japanese returnees against the Jaguares, because originally we were going to LA. But because the conditioning staff seem to be well ahead of their conditioning targets, it is now a good time to get them started.
"Hence the reason to give both teams an opportunity against a quality team that is in our competition. So far we have just played ourselves - I guess our own countrymen and now it is quite cool to play someone internationally."
The Bulls coach expects a few cobwebs from his Boks, but for the fringe players, they have a chance to impress.
"Yeah I'd like to think that there will be good team cohesion. It will probably be more challenging for the second-half group, because a lot of guys are having their first game, so I expect them to be a bit rusty and blow out a few cobwebs. But who knows, everything in a game of rugby is dependent on whether or not you have a lot of ball. If you go without a lot of ball then it becomes more demanding. Ultimately at the end of the day it is to get everyone through a bit of rugby. There are a few guys selected who have a niggle and we may even change them before the weekend.
"This pre-season is really about having to adapt regardless of what situation we are in. To surprise Lood (de Jager) and RG (Snyman) to play against the Stormers - they thought they had another two weeks of conditioning. So they did extremely well, adapted very quickly once they understood the reasons why. And the whole squad understands the reasons why we have to get going now, so it's going to be a good challenge."
The starting team is: Manie Libbok, Duncan Matthews, Dries Swanepoel, Francois Brummer, Jade Stighling, Marnitz Boshoff, Embrose Papier, Jano Venter, Themba Bholi, Marco van Staden, Lood de Jager (c), Ruben van Heerden, Frans van Wyk, Edgar Marutlulle, Trevor Nyakane.
Substitutions: Warrick Gelant, Divan Rossouw, Jesse Kriel, Burger Odendaal, Johnny Kotze, Handre Pollard, Andre Warner, Hanro Liebenberg, Jason Jenkins, Roelof Smit, RG Snyman, Conraad van Vuuren, Jaco Visagie, Pierre Schoeman. Jan-Henning Campher, Matthys Basson, Lizo Gqoboka, Shaun Adendorff, Theo Maree, JT Jackson, Franco Naude, Andell Loubser.
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