Habana to wing it for Bulls

Springbok star Bryan Habana will play on the left wing for the Blue Bulls against Western Province in the north-south Currie Cup derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday - ruling out a possible mouth-watering midfield showdown with Bok teammate Jean de Villiers.

Which position will Bryan Habana play?

Habana, despite being named to start in the No.11 jersey, was earmarked for a possible move to outside centre.

The Blue Bulls named their team - to face WP - before the outcome of the hearing of midfielder JP Nel, who was cited for a dangerous tackle in the game against Griquas last Saturday.

The hearing took place late on Wednesday afternoon and Nel was cleared - with the judicial hearing deciding that the referee's ruling (who just awarded a penalty without further sanction) was justified.

However, had Nel been suspended Habana would have taken over the No.13 jersey and then faced up to De Villiers in one of the biggest domestic games of the season.

That encounter will now no longer take place, but for a brief while on Wednesday fans from north and south could entertain the thought of a "Habana versus De Villiers" head-to-head encounter.

The Bulls team for the crucial Premier Division match against WP sees the return to action of several Springboks - Habana, Derick Hougaard and Victor Matfield.

Matfield's Springbok lock partner, Bakkies Botha, is still being rested.

The return of players like Habana and Matfield is a big boost to the defending Currie Cup champions ahead of this big derby.

Habana, who played his first Currie Cup match for the Bulls when he came on as replacement in Kimberley last week, had hardly appeared on the field before scoring one of his trademark intercept tries.

Matfield is widely recognised as one of the best line-out jumpers in the world and he will no doubt be a vital source of possession.

Hougaard's return will also be closely monitored, since it is an indication that the Bulls will revert to a more traditional kicking game.

The rest of the team is unchanged.

Blue Bulls: 15 Johan Roets, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 13 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Anton Leonard (captain), 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Jacques Cronjé, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Andries Human, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Kees Lensing.
Replacements: 16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Wessel Roux, 18 Francois van Schouwenburg, 19 Johan Wasserman, 20 Heini Adams, 21 Morné Steyn, 22 John Mametsa.

Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)