The Bulls stand out as the South African team best equipped to challenge for Super 12 glory this year.
The results of the four teams last year mirrored the general poor health of a sport beset with problems on and off the field. The Bulls finished sixth, the Stormers ninth and the Sharks and Cats occupied the bottom two positions.
And with leading official Morne du Plessis resigning, ex-World Cup hero Chester Williams shunning the Springbok coaching set-up and players continuing to accept lucrative overseas contracts, dramatic improvement is unlikely.
After finishing last for two consecutive seasons in the annual 12-province southern hemisphere rugby union championship, the Bulls were a changed team last year under new coach Rudy Joubert.
They will miss scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen (retired), fly-half Louis Koen (playing for Narbonne in France) and fullback Jaco van der Westhuysen (with Leicester in England).
But the strength of a pack full of national squad players is illustrated by the duel between Springboks Danie Coetzee and Dale Santon and rising star Gary Botha for the hooker berth.
Youngsters Fourie du Preez and Derick Hougaard can form an exciting halfback partnership and much attention will focus on black wing John Mametsa as South Africa seeks to correct racial imbalances in the sport.
The draw favours the Pretoria-based Bulls with five home fixtures in a row followed by a visit to the Stormers before they head for Australia. They finish with another home game, against neighbours The Cats.
As South Africa have slipped at Test level so have the Johannesburg-based Cats with semi-final appearances in 2000 and 2001 followed by two disastrous runs that saw them finish second last and last. They lost hooker Delarey du Preez to English club Gloucester this week and three Boks have gone: prop Lawrence Sephaka (Sharks) and loose-forward duo Joe van Niekerk (Stormers) and Bobby Skinstad (Gwent Dragons in Wales).
Cats coaches, Australian Tim Lane and Williams, will hope Ashwin Willemse continues to develop as a wing, that flyhalf Andre Pretorius can steer clear of injury and that scrumhalf Enrico Januarie fulfils exceptional promise.
Few rivals will boast a beefier front row than Boks Os du Randt, Lukas van Biljon and Faan Rautenbach and there is also lock Jannes Labuschagne and young number eight Juan Smith, but five away games in the first six spells danger.
The Stormers have also slid, finishing ninth last year after a top-four finish in 1999, although five consecutive home fixtures after visiting the Cats offers a platform to garner points.
Injuries rule out Van Niekerk and centre Jean de Villiers, Rautenbach has quit Cape Town for Johannesburg and lock Hottie Louw plays for Montferrand in France, weakening a side led by Bok World Cup captain and flanker Corne Krige.
The Sharks appear early candidates for bottom place with little to suggest the Durban-based outfit can arrest a decline from runners-up three years ago to 11th last season.
New Zealand-born coach Kevin Putt must dread starting with five consecutive away matches and even the arrival of former Scotland and British and Irish Lions flyhalf Gregor Townsend has not raised expectations.
Any hope the Sharks have of confounding their critics could rest on the slim shoulders of Brent Russell, an exciting young utility back with much to prove after being snubbed by coach Rudolf Straeuli for the World Cup. – Sapa-AFP