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South African Under-20 scrumhalf Francois Hougaard will make his first Super 14 start when the Bulls face the high-flying Waratahs in a Super 14 Round 12 match in Pretoria on Saturday.

The inclusion of Hougaard, in the place of the injury Heini Adams in the No.9 jersey, is the only change to the starting XV announced by coach Frans Ludeke on Wednesday.

Hougaard came on for Adams in the 47-17 rout of the Bulls a fortnight ago and with the latter still struggling with the leg injury he sustained early in that game, Hougaard will start.

Bulls captain Fourie du Preez will start the game from the bench after spending the past two weeks on the sidelines with a hand injury.

Springbok flank Wikus van Heerden will again captain the Bulls, with Bryan Habana retraining the vice-captaincy.

Ludeke has left Springboks Danie Rossouw, Pedrie Wannenburg and Derick Hougaard on the bench for the second consecutive match.

Ludeke, though, did provide a logical twist to retaining his young charges in the starting line-up, with the Bulls hoping to make a greater impact on proceedings in the latter stages of the match.

"This is still part of the squad system and we are hoping to finish off the match with the senior guys," Ludeke said on Wednesday after announcing his team.

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana (vice-captain), 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden (captain), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuün, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Rayno Gerber, 18 Jaco Engels, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.

Date: Saturday, May 3
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Brent Murray (New Zealand), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)