Veteran Matfield will take charge of The Bulls in what will be a record 110th Super Rugby match and his team boasts a virtually unchanged squad from the one that beat The Stormers in the Super Rugby final last year.
Coming into the mix is the Springbok speedster Basson and he will be raring to go after missing out on most of the Springbok tour to the UK.
“They certainly have some momentum going into the competition and will ask serious questions,” said Ludeke when asked about the threat The Lions could pose. Matfield added what many are believing too that the local derbies are going to intensify the tournament like never before. “Let’s not forget that it is a local derby and those are always the toughest matches.”
JustRugby Prediction: It would be great to start the Super Rugby tournament with an upset and The Lions are definitely going to push The Bulls all the way. Expect a very tight match but at the end the habit of winning might just be enough for The Bulls to clinch this one. Score: Bulls 21 Lions 18
The Bulls team (Super Caps in brackets) is:
