The duo's inclusion at blindside flank and replacement prop sets the stage for an expected battle of epic proportions amongst the forwards.

A nod to Springbok flank Marco van Staden whose 22 tackles against the DHL Stormers disrupted proceedings to such an extent that their attack was stifled on several occasions.

The only other change sees flank Elrigh Louw shifting to the bench.

The top of the table clash between the current frontrunners is a tantalising thought with both teams enjoying victories over each other, and this weekend’s meeting shall be no different according to Vodacom Bulls: Director of Rugby, Jake White.

"We've had a few epic battles thus far and the Sharks will be keen to get one over us at Loftus as it is something they've yet to do," said White.

"The forward tussle is going to set the tone while both backlines are brimming with relentless talent so it should make for an exciting but hard encounter," he added.

Kick-off at Loftus Versfeld is at 18:15.

Bulls - 15 David Kriel, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Marco Janse van Vuren, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papoer, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Arno Borha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Runa Nortjé, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenkamp.

Replacements - 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 James Verity-Amm, 24 Jacques van Rooyen, 25 Reinhardt Ludwig, 26 Nizaam Carr, 27 Keagan Johannes.