The Vodacom Bulls have been forced to make a couple of late changes after Akona Ndungane sustained a hamstring injury at the captain's run on Thursday.

Francois Hougaard will start on the right wing in place of Ndungane, while scrumhalf Piet van Zyl will move into the starting side. The game against the Highlanders will mark Van Zyl's first start for the Pretoria franchise since he moved from the Cheetahs.

Van Zyl's place on the bench will be taken by Ulrich Beyers.

Bulls – 15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Grant Hattingh, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe (c), 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Dean Greyling.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Marcel van der Merwe, 18 Paul Willemse, 19 Jacques Engelbrecht, 20 Ulrich Beyers, 21 Handré Pollard, 22 William Small-Smith, 23 Morné Mellett.