Marutlulle set for exciting battle with Visagie for Bulls number two slot

If Edgar Marutlulle's enthusiasm is anything to go by‚ the number two slot at the Bulls will be keenly contested.

Retired Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss will be out of action for the first two to three weeks of Super Rugby‚ opening up the hooking berth.

It is highly likely Marutlulle will play second fiddle to Jaco Visagie but if he becomes the star of the show like he was for the Southern Kings last season‚ Bulls coach Nollis Marais may have a delightful problem on his hands.

“I came to the Bulls knowing there's competition left‚ right and centre"‚ Marutlulle said.

"It's going to make me a better player in terms of how I see the game because the pressures here are completely different from the ones I experienced at the Southern Kings.

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"It's a necessity that a team wins every weekend here but that's how things work here.

“I hope I can learn a lot from Adriaan and I hope I can teach him a couple of things because we're two different players. We've just come back from New Zealand and we had a great game plus I enjoyed it.

"I really hope I can teach him a few things.

"After all‚ when the Bulls signed me‚ I think they knew what they had and wanted from me.”

The Stormers may boast having lineout royalty in Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth but the threat that looms from the Bulls cannot be underestimated.

• Stormers opt for one captain and drop the co-captaincy plan they employed last yearThe Stormers will go into the Super Rugby season with one captain in an attempt to build an identity around a single personality rather than the co-captain system they used in 2016. 

RG Snyman has come on in leaps and bounds alongside Jason Jenkins and Abongile Nokontwana.

There is also the significant matter of Lood de Jager‚ who will lead the Bulls lineout charge in what will be a mini-audition for Springbok places for the three-match series against France later this year.

The lineout battle will be one of the many subplots of Saturday's North-South derby at Newlands.

It is a war Marutlulle is priming himself for and hopes his locks and the rest of the forwards will make the most of the occasion.

• Changes for TMO influence in 2017 Super RugbyThe Television Match Official (TMO) protocol for Super Rugby has been amended thanks to new available technology‚ SANZAAR announced on Friday. 

The Bulls haven't found Newlands to be very welcoming in recent years.

“The Bulls were the number one side in terms of lineouts and I'm really excited to be working with these guys.

"All of them are world class and that includes every single player in the Bulls unit. Working with them is something that excites me‚” Marutlulle said.

- TMG Digital