Dan Carter was back in the saddle for the Crusaders last weekend © Getty Images

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Teams: Australia | Blues | Brumbies | Bulls | Cheetahs | Chiefs | Crusaders | Force | Highlanders | Hurricanes | Lions | New South Wales Waratahs | New Zealand | Queensland Reds | Sharks | South Africa | Stormers

After a thrilling opening round of action it's as you were in the Super 14, with the Bulls sat atop the table following their opening bonus-point win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

The reigning champions are at home in round two, facing the widely-tipped Brumbies at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in our Game of the Week. Fly-half Matt Giteau has travelled with the Brumbies to South Africa after a quad problem, while the home side will be without centre Jaco Pretorius due to injury.

The action kicks off on Friday, where the second-placed Crusaders are out to back up their opening victory against the Highlanders by taking another chunk out of the fragile confidence of Queensland Reds in Brisbane. The Reds suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Waratahs in week one but showed plenty of class, notably with scrum-half Will Genia and No.10 Quade Cooper.

All Blacks prop Wyatt Crockett has shaken off an ankle sprain and joins the Crusaders bench in place of Peter Borlase. Otherwise coach Todd Blackadder has kept the same side who beat the Highlanders, with Brad Thorn again on the bench.

Academy player Jake Schatz will make his Super 14 debut for the Reds at blindside. Skipper James Horwill returns to the second-row after starting at No.6 last weekend due to a head knock to veteran lock Van Humphries.

Across the Tasman, the Highlanders are out for their first win of the season against the Blues at Carisbrook, with their opponents having suffered an opening day defeat to the Hurricanes in North Shore City.

Former Highlander Paul Williams comes in at fullback for the Blues as Rudi Wulf returns to the wing in place of the benched Rene Ranger. Michael Hobbs starts at fly-half for the Highlanders following an injury to Matt Berquist while there is a reshuffle in the back-row as Steven Setephano replaces the injured Nasi Manu at No.8.

There is a similar contest on the cards in Durban on Friday, where the Sharks host the Cheetahs at Kings Park. Both sides suffered difficult defeats last weekend, with the Sharks' loss to the Chiefs accompanied by crowd trouble as missiles were thrown onto the pitch.

The Sharks have switched around their front-row options, with Jannie du Plessis coming in at tight-head and John Smit shifting to hooker. Bismarck du Plessis is relegated to the bench. Ruan Pienaar comes in at fly-half for the Sharks, in place of Monty Dumond, while in the centre there is a return for Springbok centre Adi Jacobs.

Lionel Mapoe shifts into the Cheetahs' midfield following an injury to Corne Uys and Ashley Johnson has been dropped at No.8 in favour of Frans Viljoen.

The Chiefs can round off a successful South African jaunt with victory over the Lions in Johannesburg on Friday. The Kiwi side will be up against a familiar face in former All Black Carlos Spencer, while the home side have taken the unusual step of dropping one of their big name summer signing as Jonathan Mokouena is replaced by USA Eagle Todd Clever.

Skipper Sione Lauaki returns to boost the visitors at No.8 and is joined in the back-row by Super 14 rookie Luke Braid and blindside Liam Messam. Mike Delany continues at fullback and Stephen Donald at fly-half.

The Hurricanes will look to go two from two as they host the Force at Westpac Stadium on Saturday. The visitors suffered another set of injury blows in the wake of their opening defeat to the Brumbies as wing Cameron Shepherd was ruled out for six weeks with a thigh injury before back-rows Richard Brown and David Pocock joined him on the injured list.

Sam Harris takes the vacant fly-half jersey for the Force as James O'Connor remains at fullback while Sam Wykes, Matt Hodgson and Ben McCalman form the back-row. For the Hurricanes, Piri Weepu and Willie Ripia are retained at halfback but they must do without injured wing Hosea Gear, who is out for four to six weeks.

The round concludes in Cape Town on Saturday, where the Stormers take on the Waratahs. Both teams have opening victories to build on at Newlands but the visitors will have to do so without flanker Dean Mumm, who was handed a two-week ban for a late charge against the Reds.

Ben Mowen slots into the back-row as a result and Kane Douglas replaces the injured Cameron Jowitt in the second-row. Former Emerging Springbok Hendrik Roodt could make his Waratahs debut from the bench.

Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie continue for the Stormers at wing and outside centre respectively, while Peter Grant retains the fly-half berth alongside Ricky Januarie. Schalk Burger captains the team from the back-row.