Handré Pollard is back at fly-half, and the Vodacom Bulls are turning to a mixture of Springbok experience and emerging talent to launch their European campaign.
The Bulls welcome Stade Francais Paris to Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, Oct. 17, for their 2026-27 Investec Champions Cup opener. Head coach Johan Ackermann has reshuffled his starting XV, with 19-year-old Luan Giliomee making his Bulls debut at fullback and Elrigh Louw captaining the side.
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Pollard replaces Curwin Bosch at No. 10, while Cobus Wiese and Marco van Staden return to the starting pack alongside Cameron Hanekom. Experienced Springboks Willie le Roux and Embrose Papier provide options from the bench.
Stade Français counters with Ihaia West at fly-half, Juan-Martin Scelzo as captain and young scrum-half Martin Blum in the starting lineup. The French visitors enter the contest following a 30-22 Top 14 victory over Montpellier.
Here are the confirmed lineups, kickoff details and how to watch Saturday's Champions Cup matchup.
Bulls vs. Stade Français Kickoff Time
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
Kickoff: 8 a.m. ET
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa
Competition: Investec Champions Cup, Round 1
Pool: 4
How To Watch Bulls vs. Stade Français
Vodacom Bulls vs. Stade Français Paris will stream live on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 17. Fans can watch live or on demand with a FloRugby subscription.
Vodacom Bulls Starting Lineup vs. Stade Français
Alu Tshakweni
Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Khutha Mchunu
Cobus Wiese
JF van Heerden
Marco van Staden
Elrigh Louw (c)
Cameron Hanekom
Paul de Wet
Handre Pollard
Cheswill Jooste
Harold Vorster
Sango Xamlashe
Sebastian de Klerk
Luan Giliomee
Bulls Replacements
Johan Grobbelaar
Gerhard Steenekamp
Francois Klopper
Jaco Grobbelaar
Jeandre Rudolph
Embrose Papier
Stravino Jacobs
Willie le Roux
Stade Français Paris Starting Lineup vs. Bulls
Thomas Bue
Alvaro Garcia Albo
Moses Alo-Emile
Jacques Botha
Fabrice Metz
Pierre Huguet
Mathieu Hirigoyen
Juan-Martin Scelzo (c)
Martin Blum
Ihaia West
Lester Etien
Julien Delbouis
Freddy Duguivalu
Aisake Nawaqadrua
Leo Monin
Stade Français Replacements
Ethan Tia
Sergo Abramishvili
Braxton Asi
Petero Mailulu
Setareki Turagacoke
Louis Foursans-Bourdette
Samuel Ezeala
Rufus McLean
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