Leon Power returns to the Brumbies' starting side for the first time since he was sidelined by a knee injury in the Super Rugby round five match against New South Wales Waratas, named to add height to the lineout and a hard edge around the park against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

The Brumbies want Leon Power's height to combat Victor Matfield aerially © Getty Images

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Scott Fardy moves to the side of the scrum at blindside flanker, to accommodate Power, while Fotu Auelua and Jordan Smiler move onto the bench and Tom McVerry drops out of the matchday squad.

"We've had a good week of training in Johannesburg and the boys are excited by the opportunity to get back in the winners' circle on Friday night," Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher said.

"The Bulls at Loftus is one of world rugby's great challenges. The Bulls lift to another level when they play on the high veldt so we will need to be at our best.

"Our full focus is on making the most of the opportunities we will be presented, to stick to the processes we've worked on through the week and to come away from Loftus with a win."

The Brumbies tasted success on their last visit to Pretoria, beating the Bulls in the 2013 Super Rugby season-finals after Tevita Kuridrani scored a late try to silence the home crowd who had never before seen their team lose a final at Loftus Versfeld.

Steve Larkham has no doubt the Bulls will be out for revenge, as he said the Brumbies had spoken about similar emotions ahead of their match against the Chiefs recently.

"We certainly spoke about revenge," Larkham said in reference to the 2013 grand final. "We wanted to get one over the Chiefs. I'm sure the Bulls will be the same. They missed an opportunity last year and we were the reason for that."

Brumbies: Jesse Mogg; Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Leali'ifano, Robbie Coleman; Matt Toomua, Nic White; Ben Mowen (captain), Jarrad Butler, Scott Fardy; Sam Carter, Leon Power; Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Scott Sio. Replacements: Josh Mann-Rea, Ruan Smith, JP Smith, Fotu Auelua, Jordan Smiler, Conrad Hoffmann, Andrew Smith, Pat McCabe.