Reds v Bulls: Teams

Reds boss Ewen McKenzie has opted for the same starting line-up that put paid to the Lions last week for Saturday's home Super 14 clash with the Bulls.

With five games remaining and the Reds sitting in fifth place and only two points outside the top four, McKenzie conceded the squad had discussed the possibility of making their first finals appearance since 2001 - but mainly to reinforce the need to keep winning each week to stay in the hunt.

"For many years the Reds haven't been in the competition, they have just been making up the support cast. (Now) we are well and truly in the competition," McKenzie said.

"The competition is about actually being in the finals and in that sense we are in the competition, as opposed to just making up numbers and going through a whole bunch of games that don't really matter.

"The reality is you can be at the bottom of the ladder and not in contention, so you can make a nuisance of yourself; you can be in no man's land where you can't really influence it either way; or you can be in contention.

Challenge

"We are in contention. No one thought we would be, but we are. But with that said, we could still end up in no man's land or beyond. We have to keep fighting every week and clearly you have to keep winning."

The Reds grabbed 11 out of a total 15 competition points on offer by beating the Cheetahs and Lions and narrowly losing to the Sharks during their three match tour of South Africa. But their biggest challenge of the season comes on Saturday when they clash with the champion and tournament-leading Bulls.

McKenzie said the coaching staff started thinking about this week's game while they were still in South Africa.

"The coaches have been looking at the Bulls for the last 10 days and there are bits and pieces that we did last week (in preparing for the Lions) that have relevance this week," he said.

"We knew we had a shorter preparation, so in a way we have had a look at the Bulls for a little bit longer than people might think.

"Keeping the same combinations obviously helps because the stuff we did last week is still relevant," added McKenzie, who has opted for a forward-heavy 5-2 split on the bench to counteract the Bulls' physical brand of rugby.

"They (Bulls) do things that look simple, but they do them so well and with such power. You could argue there's a bit of predictability about what they do, but they do it so well. It makes for a really challenging game.

"While everyone talks about their mauls, their actual power play with their forwards coming onto the ball and some of the subtleties that come with that is pretty impressive."

Flanker Derick Kuün will celebrate his 50th Super Rugby cap for the Bulls when he returns to the starting XV to face the Reds in Brisbane.

Kuün replaces Deon Stegmann in the number six jersey in the only change from the side that beat the Chiefs in Hamilton last weekend.

Determined

The 25-year-old flanker missed that match due to an ankle strain, but is fit again and will become the tenth Bulls player to achieve this milestone.

Stegmann has been named on the bench.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke indicated that his rotational policy comes in play with this decision.

"The fact that we can pick almost the same team week after week is testimony to the great work the medical staff is doing," said Ludeke.

"There are almost no niggles to speak of and that makes it so much easier to manage the group,"

Pedrie Wannenburg is still bracketed with Jaco Engels on the bench though, with the veteran loose forward struggling with a calf strain. Ludeke believes that Wannenburg will be fit to play in his 107th match, with Engels probably watching the game from the stands.

John Mametsa's inclusion will be determined by the way he slots in with the team during their training session on Wednesday, when he will join them for the first time.

Victor Matfield will captain the side for the 54th time, a Bulls and SA Rugby record (which he shares with John Smit at the Sharks). Defence coach John McFarland will be involved in his 100th Super Rugby match with the Bulls.

In other news from the Bulls, lock Mthunzi (Fudge) Mabeta has extended his contract to the end of the 2012 season.

Reds: 15 Peter Hynes, 14 Rod Davies, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (c), 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Daniel Braid (vc), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Van Humphries, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Jack Kennedy, 19 Ezra Taylor, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Brando Va'aulu.

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Stephan Roux, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Deon Stegmann, 20 John Mametsa/Heinie Adams, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg/Jaco Engels.