Louw and Grobbelaar released to boost Bulls bench for All Blacks Test

Springboks Elrigh Louw and Johan Grobbelaar, fresh from last Saturday's hard-fought win over the Pumas in Buenos Aires, have been released back to the Vodacom Bulls for tomorrow's meeting with the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld. 

Having had only one training session with the squad since returning from Argentina, both will start from the bench.

Coach Johan Ackermann has otherwise gone strong, naming a side that mixes Springbok class, returning overseas talent and Currie Cup form as the Bulls chase what would be a famous scalp. 

Captain Marcell Coetzee leads a match-day squad featuring four capped Springboks, with the experienced Willie le Roux starting at full-back. Loose forward Hanro Liebenberg is back on South African soil too, following a strong spell at Leicester Tigers.

Much of the pre-match focus falls on flyhalf Curwin Bosch, starting for the Bulls for the first time since returning from two years in France.

Long regarded as one of South African rugby's most gifted attacking backs, Bosch will look to trouble an All Blacks defence known for its line speed. He's flanked by two of the Bulls' standout performers from this season's URC campaign, scrumhalf Embrose Papier and loose forward Jeandre Rudolph, both central to the hosts' plans to play at tempo.

Among the replacements, Hakeem Kunene earns a bench spot after impressing since joining the Bulls for the Currie Cup, while former Sharks and Munster wing Thaakir Abrahams offers pace off the bench.

History favours the tourists: New Zealand have won three of the four meetings between the sides since 1949. The Bulls' solitary victory came in August 1976, when Northern Transvaal beat the All Blacks 29-27 — a result whose 50th anniversary falls almost exactly around this weekend's fixture.

Compiled with additional reporting from Kickoff.com