Preview: Bulls v Crusaders

VENUE & TIME: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Friday May 7, 19.10 local (Saturday May 8, 05.10 NZT).

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HEAD TO HEAD: Played 17 – Northern Transvaal/Bulls 6, Crusaders 11.

LAST TIME: May 23, 2009 (Pretoria) – Bulls 36-23 Crusaders (semi-final).

LAST TIME AT VENUE: May 23, 2009 – Bulls 36-23 Crusaders (semi-final).

WALKING WOUNDED: The Bulls have one change to their run-on XV, with Danie Rossouw starting what will be his 100th Super rugby match and Bakkies Botha sitting on the bench. Jaco van der Westhuyzen takes a bench spot from Heini Adams in the only personnel change to the 22. Corey Flynn's comeback lasted all of 18 minutes before he sprained the same ankle he had previously broken, although the two injuries are not related. He's been replaced in the touring party by Dan Perrin. Kahn Fotuali'i was under a cloud with a knee problem picked up at Cape Town last week but was available for selection.

FORM:

PAST FIVE Bulls:
Round 8: Lost to Blues 17-32
Round 9: Beat Chiefs 33-19
Round 10: Lost to Reds 12-19
Round 11: Beat Lions 51-11
Round 12: Beat Sharks 27-19

PAST FIVE Crusaders:
Round 8: Drew with Hurricanes 26-26
Round 9: Beat Waratahs 20-13
Round 10: Beat Cheetahs 45-6
Round 11: Lost to Force 16-24
Round 12: Lost to Stormers 14-42

The return to home soil has resulted in the Bulls returning to the form that installed them as early favourites. After clobbering the Lions they had to work particularly hard against the Sharks, but relentless pressure over the first hour allowed them to break the match open in its final stages. The Sharks may have scored a late try, but the damage had been done well before then. Once again, the men in blue look a good thing for the title and one point will at least ensure a top-four finish, while a win locks up a home semi. The Crusaders set out for their tour in good shape and at the top of the ladder, but two heavy defeats have seen them stall and they're now in real danger of missing the four altogether. They were caned in the penalty count at Cape Town, although post-game gripes over Stu Dickinson's rulings did not mask the real issues. In short, the Crusaders are not playing particularly good rugby – they went off the rails after about 20 minutes in the Hurricanes game and the top XV has never recovered any sort of fluency or style since. If you could come up with a worse match than this for the Crusaders to try and get their season back on track, you have more imagination than most.

WHO'S HOT: Danie Rossouw's milestone will no doubt act as an inspiration to his fellows, while skipper Victor Matfield also plays his 100th match for the Bulls after beginning for the Lions. Add the wallop those two pack to Gary Botha's impressive form and Dewaldt Potgieter's breakdown presence and you have the core of a really tough forward eight. Morne Steyn needs only another six points to post 200 for the year (and become the first non-Crusader to do so), while Gerhard van den Heever is now the top try-scorer in Super 14 with eight for the year. The Bulls have threats across the park and the players named are only six of them. The Crusaders simply must find a way to combat the Bulls forward power and the acid will go on Wyatt Crockett, Chris Jack and Richie McCaw in the scrum, lineout and loose respectively. The lineout must function smoothly and the number of breakdown penalties needs to be dramatically reduced. Kahn Fotuali'i has impressed but he'd be the only Crusaders back who has been improving all year. Daniel Carter looks a little out of sorts at present and the remainder of the backline has appeared dysfunctional at times. Okay, these players are being judged against high standards, but they are the Crusaders and have a lot to live up to.

WE THINK: With so much riding on this game for the Bulls and a sell-out crowd expected, we think the home side will win comfortably even if it takes a while to get on top. The Pretoria pitch will be heavy after a lot of rain in the area but that will be no obstacle to the home side, which we expect to come out on top by at least 10 points.

TEAMS:

Bulls: 1.Gurthro Steenkamp, 2.Gary Botha, 3.Werner Kruger, 4. Danie Rossouw, 5.Victor Matfield (captain), 6. Deon Stegmann, 7.Dewald Potgieter, 8.Pierre Spies, 9. Fourie du Preez, 10.Morne Steyn, 11.Francois Hougaard, 12. Wynand Olivier, 13. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 14.Gerhard van der Heever, 15.Zane Kirchner.

Reserves: 16.Bandise Maku, 17.Bees Roux, 18. Bakkies Botha, 19. Derick Kuun, 20. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 21. Stephan Dippenaar, 22. Pedrie Wannenburg.

Crusaders: 1. Wyatt Crockett, 2. Ti'i Paulo, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brad Thorn, 5. Chris Jack, 6. George Whitelock, 7. Richie McCaw (captain), 8. Kieran Read, 9. Kahn Fotuali'i, 10. Daniel Carter, 11. Zac Guildford, 12. Daniel Bowden, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Sean Maitland, 15. Colin Slade.

Reserves: 16. Dan Perrin, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Sam Whitelock, 19. Thomas Waldrom, 20. Andy Ellis, 21. Ryan Crotty, 22. Jared Payne.

REFEREE: Marius Jonker