The Bulls will be without lock Bakkies Botha for their Super 14 semifinal after he received a four-week suspension at a disciplinary hearing in Pretoria.

Botha was found guilty of recklessly charging into a ruck in the first minute of last weekend's 38-10 loss to the Stormers. He will miss Saturday's play-off against the Crusaders and the final, should the Bulls advance.

He will also miss the Springboks' first two Tests of the year - against Wales on June 5 and France on June 12.

The Bulls confirmed that they would not appeal the decision. It is the second time in less than a year that Botha has been found guilty of the same infringement. He was suspended for two weeks after a similar incident during the second Test against the British & Irish Lions last year.

Lions prop Adam Jones sustained a dislocated shoulder as a result of Botha hitting a ruck with eye-watering intensity.

Yesterday judicial officer Peter Ingwersen took into account Botha's blemished disciplinary record and weighed it against the nature of the matches he would miss through suspension.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke put the disappointment aside and named veteran Danie Rossouw to start in the second row alongside Victor Matfield. The up-and-coming Flip van der Merwe will cover the lock position on the bench.

Botha only returned to competitive rugby earlier this month after overcoming an Achilles injury and is still some way off his best form. His suspension probably eliminated a selection headache for Ludeke, who can now turn to his two form No4 locks rather than picking Botha on reputation alone.

Against the Stormers Botha often lagged behind play and was regularly doubled over catching his breath during a particularly frenetic first half.

Afterwards Botha admitted that his ankle had never felt better but that his lungs were still suffering. While he needed game time to reach full match-fitness, a knockout encounter against the Crusaders was arguably not the right occasion in which to ease his way back into the game.

The converse, of course, is that Botha offers so much physicality that even 25 minutes from the giant second-rower late in the game could have made a difference.

Ludeke named a team containing 14 players who have won the Super 14 before, including 12 players from last year's victorious team and Gary Botha and Jaco van der Westhuyzen from the side that won in 2007.

The only player not to have a winner's medal is wing Francois Hougaard, while 10 of the starting line-up played against the Crusaders in last year's semi, which the Bulls won 36-23.

Ludeke also opted for a five/two split on the bench between forwards and backs by including two loose forwards in Derick Kuun and Pedrie Wannenburg. Hougaard will cover scrumhalf as Heini Adams has been omitted completely.

Team: Zane Kirchner, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Jaco Pretorius, Wynand Olivier, Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield (capt), Danie Rossouw, Werner Kruger, Gary Botha, Gurthro Steenkamp. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Bees Roux, Flip van der Merwe, Derick Kuun, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Stephan Dippenaar, Pedrie Wannenburg.