New Vodacom Bulls recruit Ruan Vermaak has been included as part of the Bulls 28 man squad to face the Ospreys in their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship league match on Friday night.
Vermaak, who made his Super Rugby debut at 19 and returned recently from Japan, is highly rated and has already joined his teammates in Wales.
The Bulls know that a win could easily secure them a home playoff spot, but will inevitably give them a better spot on the final log when the playoff spots are determined this weekend.
“We have an important tour where we will face a dangerous Ospreys team in their own backyard. We are at a crucial stage of the competition – the business end of the round-robin stages and on the verge of the playoffs, with plenty to play for in terms of securing home quarterfinal spots,” said coach Jake White ahead of the tour.
“Be that as it may, the focus is on playing well as a group this week and to start building good momentum going into the playoffs.”
The match will be played at the Swansea.com (Liberty) Stadium, kicking off at 21h10 on Friday and will be live on SuperSport.
The Vodacom Bulls 28-man touring squad is:
FORWARDS (16):Arno Botha, Bismarck du Plessis, Cyle Brink, Dylan Smith, Elrigh Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Janko Swanepoel, Johan Grobbelaar, Marcell Coetzee (CAPT), Mornay Smith, Robert Hunt, Ruan Nortje, Ruan Vermaak, Simphiwe Matanzima, Walt Steenkamp.
BACKS (12):
Canan Moodie, Chris Smith, Cornal Hendricks, David Kriel, Embrose Papier, Harold Vorster, Juan Mostert, Keagan Johannes, Madosh Tambwe, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Stedman Gans, Zak Burger