The Bulls will be captained by the seasoned Springbok, Morné Steyn, who hails from Bloemfontein, while the World Cup winner, Bismarck du Plessis, will start at hooker. Du Plessis himself was schooled in Bloemfontein and his professional career started in the city.

The former Cheetah, Chris Smit, will start at inside centre in the match. The former Matie left the Free State at the end of last season to further his career at the Bulls.

The team also sees players such as Wandisile Simelane, Marco Jansen van Vuuren and Stravino Jacobs playing.

The Bulls Director of Rugby, Jake White, told OFM Sport that this game is important for their squad.

“We've announced a pretty strong team, and what I’m hoping for is that when we announce our touring squad on Saturday, those guys do not only make it really difficult for me to finalise that squad,” said the World Cup-winning former Springbok coach. “But, they must also make it difficult for me to determine which of those two teams I need to put up against certain opposition.

“What I would really like is for them to show me that whether I pick that team as is to play against the Dragons away, or to leave them here to prepare for a home fixture the following week, I would like to believe they're good enough to do it.

“The proof is in the pudding - they've got nothing to lose. A lot of them haven't played in a long time and it's their first game. But, most of them have played in the United Rugby Championship and Super Rugby, and those that haven’t, have played SA U20 rugby. There is no reason why they can't stake a claim.”

Friday afternoon’s match between the Cheetahs and Bulls at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 16:15.

Cheetahs - 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Chucky van der Westhuizen, 1 Cameron Dawson.

Replacements – 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Marné Coetzee, 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Marnus van der Merwe, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 David Britz, 23 Cohen Jasper.

Bulls - 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Izzy Novuka, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuuren, 12 Chris Smit, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Morné Steyn (Captain), 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Muller Uys, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana, 6 Raynhard Mouton, 5 Ruan Vermaak, 4 Merwe Olivier, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dylan Smith

Replacements - 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Wiehan Bezuidenhout, 18 Mhleli Dlamini, 19 Juan van der Westhuizen, 20 Abulele Ndabambi, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 FC du Plessis.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport