Bulls head to Europe for URC tour with 13 Springboks and Pollard back

The Vodacom Bulls will depart on Monday for a three-match United Rugby Championship tour of Europe with 13 Springboks in their 31-man squad, following a 39-31 victory over Leinster at Loftus Versfeld that moved the Pretoria side to the top of the standings. The Bulls will face Ulster, Connacht and Glasgow on successive weekends as coach Johan Ackermann looks to consolidate a strong start to the season after the team collected the maximum 10 league points from their first two fixtures.

The touring party includes a raft of internationals fresh from the Rugby Championship, with Handré Pollard among the high-profile names expected to bolster the backline. Ackermann said the priority is balancing reintegration with player welfare, noting individual return-to-play plans are in place and that workload management remains a key concern. "We've got individual plans in place, but injuries have already forced one or two changes," he said. "Hopefully we'll integrate them quickly. It's probably the biggest challenge for Handré, just because he's the newest addition, while the others have played with us before."

The Bulls will be without captain Marcell Coetzee, who failed a head injury...