The Brumbies head to Pretoria this week in an attempt to repeat their amazing feat in last years semi final and knock over the Bulls in their own backyard.
After last weeks disappointing loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, the Brumbies will be looking to put in a solid performance with the Australian conference a very close run race with only four points separating the Brumbies from the Force who lie in third.
The Brumbies do have the advantage of beating the Bulls twice in 2013 although both matches came right down to the wire. A penalty goal after the siren won it in Canberra and a Tevita Kuridrani try with time virtually up secured the historic win in Pretoria.
They have mixed things up in the forwards with lock Leon Power making his way back to the starting lineup with Scott Fardy moving to blindside. Fotu Auelua moves back to the bench and is also joined there by Jordan Smiler who takes the place of Tom McVerry.
The hosts are coming off a bye and are welcoming back a number of players into the starting side including captain Flip van der Merwe who is returning from suspension. He will join the lineout master Victor Matfield who seems to be getting better the older he gets and will be a formidable combination.
Here are the key matchups:
Lineout
The two best lineout operations in the tournament come up against each other. Victor Matfield leads the competition with 61 takes so far this season and as he moonlights as the forwards coach, you’d be game not to throw it to him. Ben Mowen leads the Brumbies lineout and will need support from Scott Fardy and new Wallaby squad member Sam Carter if they to get any advantage over their opponenets.
Attacking Play
The Brumbies seemed to have stalled in their attack in recent matches since putting five tries on the Chiefs last month. They do have the attacking weapons that showed glimpses last week with Robbie Coleman bagging his first try in some time.
The Bulls attacking play this season has been less than exciting that finds them bottom of the pile in average carries, breaks, defenders beaten and offloads which also accounts for just one try in the opening 20 minutes compared to eight from the Brumbies.
Fearless Prediction
The Brumbies need this win and have the game to do so. Hopefully last weeks loss was a minor speed bump and they get their run to the finals back on track with a win.
Brumbies by 5
A friendly reminder that this match had to be brought forward by 24 hours to accommodate the South African Presidential inauguration. Surely it could have just been done during the half time break.
 |  | 
|
|---|---|---|
| Dean Greyling | 1 | Scott Sio |
| Callie Visagie | 2 | Stephen Moore |
| Werner Kruger | 3 | Ben Alexander |
| Flip van der Merwe | 4 | Leon Power |
| Victor Matfield | 5 | Sam Carter |
| Jono Ross | 6 | Scott Fardy |
| Jacques du Plessis | 7 | Jarrad Butler |
| Grant Hattingh | 8 | Ben Mowen (c) |
| Francois Hougaard | 9 | Nic White |
| Jacques-Louis Potgieter | 10 | Matt Toomua |
| Bjorn Basson | 11 | Robbie Coleman |
| Jan Serfontein | 12 | Christian Lealiifano |
| JJ Engelbrecht | 13 | Tevita Kuridrani |
| Akona Ndungane | 14 | Henry Speight |
| Jurgen Visser | 15 | Jesse Mogg |
| Reserves | ||
| Bongo Mbonambi | 16 | Josh Mann-Rea |
| Morne Mellett | 17 | Ruan Smith |
| Marcel van der Merwe | 18 | JP Smith |
| Paul Willemse | 19 | Fotu Auelua |
| Jacques Engelbrecht | 20 | Jordan Smiler |
| Piet van Zyl | 21 | Conrad Hoffmann |
| Handrè Pollard | 22 | Andrew Smith |
| Ulrich Beyers | 23 | Pat McCabe |
| Location: | Loftus Versfeld | Pretoria |
| Kickoff: | Sat 24 May 3:10 | |
| Referee: | Craig Joubert | |
| Assistant Ref 1: | Jaco Peyper. | |
| Assistant Ref 2: | Cobus Wessels | |
| TMO : | Johan Greeff. |
Stats provided by Opta Sports
