The Vodacom Bulls have made three changes, all of them up front, ahead of their clash with the Chiefs in Rotorua on Friday.

Coach Frans Ludeke has taken the decision to rest Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss in accordance with Saru's player management regulations, with Callie Visagie slotting in at hooker in his absence.

Elsewhere, Jacques du Plessis and Deon Stegmann return to the starting XV in place of Lappies Labuschagné and Arno Botha, both of whom drop to the bench.

Meanwhile, the backline remains unchanged after Rudy Paige and Francois Hougaard recovered from the knocks they received during the defeat to the Blues in Auckland last weekend.

Bulls – 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van de Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Subs: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Lappies Labuschagné, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Burger Odendaal, 23 Travis Ismaiel.

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images