The Vodacom Bulls will be missing some of their stars ahead of their midweek fixture against the Xerox Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday thanks to Covid protocols.

Coach Jake White confirmed some players – such as winger Kurt-Lee Arendse and Stedman Gans – would be missing because they were being retested after initially testing positive, then negative and then positive again.

All of which means that the Bulls had to name an extended squad.

On the flip side, the squad includes returns for Lizo Gqoboka at prop, Elrigh Louw at flank and Jan Uys at lock, which can only strengthen the side up front.

The game was rescheduled after positive tests in the Bulls camp initially forced the postponement of the match, meaning the Bulls will play two games this week with their match against the Pumas shifted to Sunday.

“Some players test positive, then negative and then positive again. The reality is because of the uncertainty of whether there is a new strain we’re just retesting a few guys again,” White explained on Monday.

White admitted it has been challenging to plan for the games after a long break, but is happy his team can complete their fixtures.

“It’s unique. Its not often that you can play two or three games in 10 days, and one of those is a playoff game. There is a lot of thought that goes into it behind the scenes – should we go flat out? What do we do? What happens if we play the same players and they don’t last until next Saturday?

“What happens if I decide I’m going to put all my eggs in one basket and then the team changes anyway because three guys test positive. You could actually leave out some guys, and then test, and then have three guys who test positive that you thought could play and then you end up back at square one.

“It isn’t ideal but it is the same for everybody. At this point in time we are just happy that having not played for three weeks we are still top of the log.”

Kick-off is at 4pm CAT (SA, GMT+2) and will be televised live on the SuperSport Grandstand and Rugby channels.

Vodacom Bulls extended match-day squad: Lizo Gqoboka, Schalk Erasmus, Trevor Nyakane, Jan Uys, Ruan Nortje, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Stravino Jacobs, Cornal Hendricks, Marnus Potgieter, Jay-Ceel Nel, David Kriel, Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Marcel van der Merwe, Walt Steenkamp, Arno Botha, Tim Agaba, Ivan van Zyl, Morne Steyn, Keagan Johannes, David Kellerman, Jade Stighling, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Joe van Zyl.

Bulls coach Jake White has named a new-look side to take on the Lions in a postponed Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.

After naming an extended squad for the match on Monday, White named his matchday side on Tuesday evening minus centre stars Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Wings Travis Ismaiel and Marco Janse van Vuren, both of whom recently featured on the wings, have also missed out on selection.

The good news is Lizo Gqoboka is back in the front row after time out of the game, while Chris Smith, as he’s done on several occasions in the Currie Cup, will start ahead of Morne Steyn at flyhalf.

The Bulls have been hit hard by Covid-19 in recent weeks and several players are not available. White, too, was bed-ridden with the virus over the festive season.

The match was supposed to have been played on Boxing Day but was postponed because of the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Bulls camp.

Kickoff on Wednesday is 4pm.

Bulls: David Kriel, Jade Stighling, Marnus Potgieter, Jay-Cee Nel, Stravino Jacobs, Chris Smith, Embrose Papier, Duane Vermeulen (capt), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Jan Uys, Trevor Nyakane, Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench: Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Marcel van der Merwe, Janko Swanepoel, Ivan van Zyl, Morné Steyn, Arno Botha, Tim Agaba

Lions coach Cash van Rooyen on Tuesday dropped a minor bombshell by leaving out two of his stars in centre Wandisile Simelane and Springbok flank Jaco Kriel for their big Currie Cup clash against the Bulls at Loftus on Wednesday evening.

Former Bulls captain Burger Odendaal has replaced Simelane, who has been one of the sensations of the competition but has now moved down to the bench for this clash.

Marnus Schoeman, who has had precious little game time in the competition, will start for the first time in the Currie Cup this season after playing a blinder off the bench in last weekend’s 33-25 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit.< width="1" height="2" border="0" style="-sizing: border-; display: block; margin: 12px auto;">< width="1" height="2" border="0" style="-sizing: border-; display: block; margin: 12px auto;">

Kriel is believed to be “resting” after playing the majority of the games so far in the competition as he isn’t part of the match-day squad at all.

Van Rooyen wasn’t available on Tuesday to explain why Kriel won’t feature against the Bulls.

The third change to the Lions team comes at tighthead where Jannie du Plessis replaces Wiehahn Herbst, who struggled at scrum-time against the Pumas, while the formidable Carlu Sadie will sit on the bench.

“I don’t think we have played two games in five days before so it’s all quite different,” said Van Rooyen. “I think the last time (this happened) for most of these guys was probably at the Craven Week.”

Lions: Tiaan Swanepoel, Stean Pienaar, Burger Odendaal, Dan Kriel, Courtnall Skosan, Elton Jantjies (capt), André Warner, Len Massyn, Vincent Tshituka, Marnus Schoeman, Marvin Orie, Willem Alberts, Jannie du Plessis, Jaco Visagie, Dylan Smith. Bench: Jan-Henning Campher, Ruan Dreyer, Carlu Sadie, Reinhard Nothnagel, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Ross Cronjé, Wandisile Simelane, Francke Horn.

Kickoff: 4pm.