Nollis drops stars, turns to young 'uns

Bulls coach Nollis Marais dropped Springbok lock Lood de Jager to the bench and then said his senior players would have nowhere to hide when they face the Highlanders tomorrow.

The Bulls were missing in action against the Crusaders last week in a record 62-24 home defeat, leaking 10 tries in the process.

"Most of this team is very young but after last week's performance, they need to produce a better effort this weekend," said Marais.

"I believe the guys we have will be the ones to give us that effort this weekend.

"I'm not happy with how everybody has been playing ... to single out one person isn't going to be fair. We didn't perform well enough and that's that."

De Jager is one of the senior players, among the six changes, shafted from the starting 15. Adriaan Strauss's name is also missing, but Marais said the former Bok captain had a foot injury that had already been X-rayed to determine its severity.

Jaco Visagie will start in his place with young No8 Hanro Liebenberg taking over the captaincy.

Right wing Jade Stighling will make his Super Rugby debut and could be joined by Elton Jantjies's brother, Tony, from the bench.

In Port Elizabeth, Pat Lambie will be pressed into service as the starting flyhalf for the Sharks against the Southern Kings, who believe they have a shot at winning.

The pivot is raring to have a go at a side that nearly pulled off a surprise win on March 18.

"If we perform well, we can put ourselves in a good place ahead of the international window."

Lambie is one of four changes made by Sharks coach Robert du Preez and the make-up of the starting 15 looks like a side that takes the Southern Kings seriously.

In the Durban game, which the Sharks won 19-17, a greenhorn like Benhard Janse van Rensburg was given a run and his inexperience was brutally exposed.

In New Zealand, the table-topping Canterbury Crusaders will be defending an unbeaten run against the Wellington Hurricanes at the start of a season-defining fortnight in Super Rugby.

The Crusaders have won 10 out of 10 in the best winning streak by any team in a season since they went through 2002 undefeated.

To preserve that record, they will have to pay particular attention to the skills of Beauden Barrett, who has consistently boosted the Hurricanes this year with his deft kicking skills.

"The fact that he has got a short [kick] and a long [kick] makes it difficult to cover. He is a special player and we all know that.

"It is just one of the challenges of playing the Hurricanes," Crusaders assistant coach and former All Blacks fullback Leon MacDonald said.

"The real strength, especially, of Beaudie's play, is his ability to read the situation play on the go. It doesn't need to be pre-called. He sees space and attacks it."