Could first Springbok team of the year look like this?
Rassie Erasmus has made it clear that they are not taking this clash lightly as their intention is to get their own structures in place as they prepare for a challenging international season.
Interestingly, he has identified this clash as an opportunity to get Japan-based players back up to speed considering their League One season finished quite some time ago, while there will certainly be some newcomers who are afforded a run as well.
It's also unlikely all that many Bulls players will be pushed into action considering they have just featured all the way through to the URC final.
With all this in mind, this is the first team of the year that we think the Springboks could select.
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Rassie Erasmus has made it clear that there is a very clear plan in place for the opening fixture of the season.
'It's difficult to plan around the Barbarians because they are a team consisting of players from many different countries, so our focus in that match will be our game and what we want to achieve,' he said.
'It will serve as a good opportunity for the players who have returned from Japan to get back into the swing of things, and perhaps to give a few players who have not played Test rugby a feel of what it is to play at this level.'
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