A fit-again Francois Hougaard will line up at scrum-half against the Brumbies in Pretoria © Getty Images

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Springboks Jan Serfontein and Francois Hougaard have been passed fit for the Bulls' Super Rugby semi-final showdown with the Brumbies in Pretoria on Saturday.

Both players sat out the Bulls' last outing of the regular season - a 30-13 loss to the Stormers - but return from injury at the expense of centre Francois Venter and No.9 Jano Vermaak respectively with the latter dropping to the bench. Former Junior Springbok lock Paul Willemse is named among the replacement having also recovered from injury and replaces Jacques du Plessis.

"We have worked hard to put ourselves in a position where we could host a semi-final at home and achieved that. We cannot allow all that effort to go to waste on Saturday," coach Frans Ludeke said.

"We certainly respect the Brumbies as an opponent, but this match will be about us and our ability and drive to make them play the game at our tempo and to our game plan. For that we will need to be accurate and execute the big plays well," the coach said.

Bulls captain, Dewald Potgieter, encouraged the home supporters to help them over the line. "We have great fans and we love doing well in front of them. It is going to be a game of margins on Saturday and if we have our support base behind us, we will be able to edge ahead.

"We have to play the right type of rugby at the right times in the match and I am confident of that. We have experience in play-offs and we have big game players, so we will be ready," Potgieter said.

Bulls: Zane Kirchner; Akona Ndungane, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson; Morné Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Dean Greyling, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Werner Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Grant Hattingh, Deon Stegmann, Jacques Potgieter, Dewald Potgieter (capt)

Replacements: Callie Visagie, Frik Kirsten, Morné Mellett, Paul Willemse, Jono Ross, Jano Vermaak, Jürgen Visser.