The Bulls will enter their Champions Cup match against Stade Francais with confidence following their emphatic 57-15 victory against the Lions last weekend.
In addition, with two wins and a narrow defeat away from home in the URC in the last few weeks, they will be determined to come out on top to give themselves the best possible chance to improve on their Round of 16 finish last year.
They will, however, be wary of the Frenchmen, who have won three of their six games in the Top 14, and will be desperate to make up for their disappointing away form, which has seen them win only one of their three games on the road in the competition.
Spicing up the clash, the last time the teams met was in the 2024/25 season in a repeat of this fixture, with the men from Pretoria registering a comprehensive 48-7 victory – a result the hosts will want to replicate, and one the visitors will want to avenge.
Kick off is at 14:00 (SA time).
KEEP TRACK OF THE BULLS’ LIVE SCORING IN THE CHAMPIONS CUP
The Bulls have made wholesale changes to their starting XV for clash against Stade Français, with Handré Pollard returning at flyhalf, Elrigh Louw taking over the captaincy and newcomer Luan Giliomee earning his first start at fullback.
Up front, Alu Tshakweni, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Khutha Mchunu form an entirely new starting front row, replacing Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Francois Klopper. Cobus Wiese also moves into the second row alongside JF van Heerden, with Ruan Vermaak dropping out of the 23-man squad.
MATCH INFORMATION
BULLS – 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Cheswill Jooste, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Alu Tshakweni.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Jeandré Rudolph, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Stravino Jacobs, 23 Willie le Roux.
Champions Cup
Bulls v Stade Francais
Date: Saturday, 17 October 2026
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
SA Time: 14:00
Referee: Christophe Ridley
TV: SuperSport