Bulls hit by fresh injury blows ahead of Leinster clash as Lions aim to cut errors against Zebre

The Bulls’ wretched luck with injuries continues, with backs Jan Serfontein and Cheswill Jooste both unavailable for tomorrow's United Rugby Championship clash against Leinster in Pretoria.

Springbok Serfontein picked up a shoulder injury in the opening-round win against the Ospreys, while Jooste suffered a hamstring strain in the same match.

Their absence has forced coach Johan Ackermann to reshuffle his backline, with experienced centre Harold Vorster slotting in for Serfontein, Sebastian de Klerk shifting to right wing, and Stravino Jacobs starting on the left.

In the pack, Cobus Wiese’s head injury assessment last weekend opens the door for Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, who impressed in cover, to start this Saturday. Sintu Manjezi comes onto the bench.

The Bulls are dealing with a lengthy injury list that also includes Sti Sithole, Akker van der Merwe, Ruan Vermaak, Jaco Grobbelaar, Jannes Kirsten, Nizaam Carr, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom, Jeandré Rudolph, Johan Goosen, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Katlego Letebele and Aphiwe Dyantyi.

The rest of the Bulls’ pack remains unchanged after a strong showing against the Welsh side. But they will need to be at their sharpest to withstand defending champions Leinster, who arrive stung by their heavy defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town.

Ackermann admitted his side needed more polish after their opening outing but expressed confidence in their ability to grow. Match fitness, he added, remains a work in progress, though he expects sharpness to improve as the competition unfolds.

Meanwhile, Lions forwards coach Barend Pieterse says his side must “minimise our mistakes” when they face Zebre on Sunday.

The Lions went down 33-20 to Cardiff in their opener, with ill-discipline and unforced errors derailing their chances of an away win in Wales.

Now they are targeting their first points of the campaign in Italy against a Zebre side buoyed by a 31-28 victory over Edinburgh last weekend.

“The talk for us this week was obviously to minimise our mistakes,” Pieterse said. “A lot of the errors we made were on us. We spoke about getting off the line in defence and being more physical in contact. That was a harsh conversation with the players, but it was needed.

“Zebre are a team that have improved significantly over the past few years. It’s not just about guts anymore – they’ve got a good system, good coaches, and you can see they’re well drilled. They’ve got dangerous attackers and a good backline. If we make the game too loose, they’ll be very dangerous.”

Bull team for Leinster

15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 JJ Theron, 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 N Janse van Rensburg, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.Bulls Hit by Fresh Injury Blows, Lions Aim to Cut Errors

Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Willie le Roux.