NSW coach Chris Hickey will preach the virtue of patience, as his side battles to retain control of their Super Rugby destiny by beating the resurgent Bulls in Pretoria.

The defending champion Bulls have bounced back into finals contention with four straight wins heading into the clash on Saturday morning (AEST).

Entering the round, the sixth-placed Waratahs (46 points) are just one point and place above the Bulls with the Highlanders a further point back.

NSW could drop to as low as eighth if they lose to the Bulls and the Highlanders score a home win over the struggling Force in Dunedin a few hours earlier.

Hickey predicted a fair bit of fluidity among the places in the lower half of the top six over the remaining rounds.

"Getting a win out of one of these games in Africa, keeps our fate in our own hands, particularly going back to play the Highlanders, one of the teams that are competing for a (finals) spot," Hickey said.

"The Sharks, the Bulls and the Stormers have got to play each other over here over the next three weeks as well, so I think there will still be a fair bit of movement around those four, five, six positions on the table."

He was confident NSW could win in Pretoria if they stuck to their game plan.

"I think we've developed some strategies that we're confident will work well for us and I think it's a matter of having the patience to stick with those strategies for 80 minutes," Hickey said.

"I think it's really important in this sort of game, there's a certain amount of patience involved when you play a team like the Bulls."

NSW fortified their lineout by bringing in 202cm Kane Douglas in alongside 203cm Sitaleki Timani, with acting skipper Dean Mumm moving from the second row to blindside flanker.

"They have got a very strong lineout and you also know you've got to be competitive around the park at the ruck and the tackle," Hickey said.

"We just felt for this game against the Bulls it's important we probably took a bit more height into our lineout."

Veteran Al Baxter replaces injured in-form prop Sekope Kepu in the other change to the pack that started in last week's loss to the Sharks.

In the backs, Berrick Barnes comes in at inside centre, with Tom Carter moving to outside centre in place of the injured Ryan Cross.

"It was something we thought about there, having the two ball players and it also gives us two kicking options," Hickey said.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke added almost 200 Super caps of experience to his pack by promoting hooker Gary Botha and flanker Danie Rossouw to the run on side.

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