Pollard back as Bulls recall Springboks for Ulster game
Pollard played over 70 games for the Bulls before leaving to join Montpellier in 2019
- Published
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Handre Pollard will make his first Bulls appearance in six years in Saturday's United Rugby Championship trip to Ulster (19:45 BST).
Fly-half Pollard, who rejoined the Pretoria-based club over the summer after stints with Montpellier and Leicester Tigers, is one of eight South Africa internationals in the Bulls line-up for the game in Belfast.
Like Pollard, prop Wilco Louw and centre Canan Moodie are restored to Johan Ackermann's starting team after helping the Springboks win retain the Rugby Championship.
Former Boks lock Ackermann - appointed in the summer - makes seven changes in total from last week's win over Leinster, with Cobus Wiese, Marco Staden, Jeandre Rudolph and Zak Burger also recalled.
South Africa centurion Willie le Roux is named among the replacements, while hooker Johann Grobbelaar captains the side in former Ulster flanker Marcell Coetzee's concussion-enforced absence.
"He obviously had to do a bit of homework and get to know the players and meet all the players," Ackermann said of 85-cap Springbok Pollard.
"And then the moment we step our foot on the field on Wednesday [for training], he's bringing a lot of calmness, experience and class.
"Even though it's a big challenge to only have two trainings with a team, I'm sure he will adapt well and the players will feed off his calmness and experience."
The Bulls have started the season with two wins, but in order to extend their winning sequence, Ackermann believes his players must block out the noise of the Ulster fans.
"They sing, they're noisy, they make you feel it when you make a mistake," said Ackermann, who was head coach during Ulster great David Humphreys' spell as Gloucester director of rugby.
"Those things can come under your skin that we have to control. We've tried to prep this week by making a big thing about what we can control. We don't control the crowd, the referee, the weather.
"What we control is our attitude, our mindset, our positivity."
Bulls: Devon Williams; Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs; Handre Pollard, Zak Burger; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johann Grobbelaar (capt), Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Nicolas Janse v Rensburg, Marco van Staden, Mpilo Gumede, Jeandre Rudolph.
Replacements: Juann Else, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Mornay Smith, Reinhardt Ludwig, Nama Xaba, Paul de Wet, David Kriel, Willie le Roux.