MARIUS Delport will start on the wing in the place of the injured Akona Ndugane in the Blue Bulls squad to face the Lions tomorrow, while Jaco Pretorius will resume his midfield partnership with Stefan Watermeyer.

MARIUS Delport will start on the wing in the place of the injured Akona Ndugane in the Blue Bulls squad to face the Lions tomorrow, while Jaco Pretorius will resume his midfield partnership with Stefan Watermeyer.

The arch-rivals meet in an Absa Currie Cup game at Ellis Park.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke has called up most of his senior players to fortify the team against his former side.

They include hooker Derick Kuun, prop Werner Kruger and flank Wilhelm Steenkamp, who are capable of adding more punch and weight to the scrum. Steenkamp will pack down in the second row next to Flip van der Merwe. Ludeke has kept his experienced loose trio unchanged for tomorrow's encounter.

"I am fairly content with the way this season has progressed so far," he said. "We will continue to make a huge improvement in various aspects of our game."

The Lions will welcome captain Cobus Grobbelaar and vice-captain Willem Alberts back from injury.