Beginning the second half of the season, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said hitting straight back with a win would be of paramount importance.

Both teams are desperate for a win, so it will be a huge battle to get our campaign back on track,” said Ludeke.

“The nice thing about the competition is that there’s aways that next game. We’d like to bounce back in a crucial game at home against the Reds.”

The big team news for the Bulls was the inclusion of Flip van der Merwe on the bench. The towering lock makes a welcome return from injury as cover for veteran Victor Matfield who is out for a month, opting to have knee surgery.

Van der Merwe has not played any competitive rugby after injuring a pectoral muscle in pre-season training earlier this year.

“It’s great to be back playing Super Rugby, especially at this stage of the competition,” said Van der Merwe.

The 29-year-old hoped for a vast improvement from the Bulls against the Queensland outfit.

“We looked at the tape of the Lions game and we didn’t play great rugby. Though we had a chance at the end, you never expect to win games when you play as badly as that. We just need to fix our game against the Reds.”

Ludeke, meanwhile, said the match could be determined by the team with the better tactics.

“They like to carry the ball and play with a lot of width, so we have to match that this weekend and force turnovers.”

The coach also opted to give Handré Pollard and Jan Serfontein another week off, with the latter also rested due to the Saru arrangement for resting Springbok players. Flyhalf Jacques-Louis

Potgieter and centre Burger Odendaal come into the starting fifteen as a result.

For the Reds, James Horwill misses out after picking up a red card in their previous match. James O’Conner and Quade Cooper were both out injured.