The Vodacom Bulls will have William Small-Smith available again for selection ahead of their Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. The 22-year old midfielder was ruled out of last week’s selection due to a stomach ailment.
Jono Ross was cleared of concussion and Jurgen Visser suffered a contusion in last Friday night’s win over the Brumbies, but is ready to play as well. They will sit out the field session on Monday and will train Tuesday, team doctor Org Strauss confirmed.
Bulls Media Release
The long term injury list remains the same, with Lohan Jacobs joining them after surgery ruled him out at least three weeks.
The rest if the rehab group is: Tian Schoeman (foot, 3 months), Pierre Spies (bicep, 6-9 months), Arno Botha (knee, 5-6 months), Frik Kirsten (neck, 5 months), Jaco Visagie (knee, 2-3 months), Deon Stegmann (groin, 6 weeks), Hencus van Wyk (AC joint, 2-3 weeks).
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In other news, with Handré Pollard now on duty with the Junior Bokke, on their way to New Zealand for the Junior World Championships, the question is who will be backup flyhalf to Jacques-Louis Potgieter at the Bulls for this weekend’s game against the Lions at Ellispark.
SuperSport
Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke faces an interesting poser when it comes to his backup flyhalf ahead of Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Lions at Ellis Park.
With Handre Pollard heading to New Zealand with the SA under-20 squad, the Bulls will need to get another back-up to Jacques-Louis Potgieter for the game, one they desperately need to win if they are to have a chance of making the Super Rugby playoffs.
Potgieter is the obvious choice to take the number 10 jersey again and is in form, and it was no surprise that he extended his contract late last week with the Bulls until the end of 2016, meaning he is likely to finish his career in Pretoria.
Pollard will captain the SA under-20 squad in New Zealand and has missed most of their preparation thus far, but it is his third consecutive IRB Junior World Championship so there is little that he needs to know in what it takes to win the tournament.
However, with Louis Fouche just returning from a knee injury, and having lost both form and confidence in the beginning of the season, the Bulls will need to get him up to speed since they dropped him after a poor start to the season.
And there isn’t much choice. Tian Schoeman, who played in the Vodacom Cup, is out with a foot injury for three months, with Tony Jantjies the only other choice as back-up.
Jantjies has been solid all season and if the Bulls don’t decided to use Fouche, who is said to be weighing up his options with a possible move to Japan in the pipeline.
Fouche should be on the bench while it can not be ignored that Ludeke might start with his “wunderkind”.
I said Lions by 6 earlier, but if the Bulls pack get parity against the travel weary lions we could even play Visser at flyhalf, the theory should still up true.
@MB
Bulls by a minimum of 20
@ nortierd: afraid I think you’re right Nortie. Anyway, howzit.
@Tassies
Very well, and you?
It almost felt like a reunion at times earlier here on the SA Review thread.
Almost like old times, guys ,and Carol, just shooting the breeze
okay folks gone to watch that dodgy survivor. Best I head for my pit and Deon Meyer’s story of suspense and intrigue. Nag mense.
Tassies wrote:
Cheers, I enjoy the Deon Meyer books as well, just couldn’t get into Kobra, left it half way, not sure why
@ nortierd: Oh, you’re back Nortie. Yup. I think I can enjoy this companionship again. Damn but the pervious community became dodge, in the extreme. Hope those folk are ‘locked out’ by GB’s self-acclaimed cyberfence and its effective.
@Tassies
True, it got too unpleasant at times on Keo.
Much more sociable here
@ nortierd: reading Trackers which I bought at the airport the other day. Can’t put it down. Excellent. My fourth if I count correctly. I swing between auto-biographies and thrillers, which are contradictions in terms I suppose but that’s how it is.
@ nortierd: That be true in my very limited experience here. I was at Newlands saturday. Pissed with rain at time but I was one of the luckier ones under cover high up on the main stand. Damn that rain was something else swirling around Newlands as it can in a wind like that. Walking home after the game, some oke’s car had been flattened by a tree outside Newlands swimming baths. Some storm that was. Much like our team delivered on the hapless Cheetahs.
Lol, same with me.
I collect autobiographies, so they stay on the shelf.
Fiction wise, I have replaced the books on the shelf by having it put on the I-Pad.
Busy with rereading the Stand by Stephen King, must have read it 20 years back, and Koevoet by Jim Hooper.
Heard Kaplan’s biography came out, so will have a look for that this weekend.
Meyer is the only author I will read in Afrikaans
Trackers is calling. Cheers Nortie. Chat again.
@Tassies 10
Saw you mentioned that this weekend, but at least you say you had the best view in the house.
I miss the good old Cape Winters.
Up here no rain for many months, hot in the day, freezing at night.
My first Gauteng winter I almost died, so used to the wet winter of CT, the cold here didn’t do it for me
Tassies wrote:
Cheers, enjoy the book
@ nortierd: I read it in english. It is superbly translated and loses nothing in translation I’m sure. His writing is extraordinarily good and the bonus is; its action revolves around familiar locations(like Loxton in the Karoo). Re-read Mac’s auto on the way to Hong Kong the other week(took 13 hours + the inter-connect to nail it). I have no problem reading an auto more than once. Next is Shane Warne’s. Might be my third time. Looking to invest in Vic’s next.
Ricky Ponting’s is excellent as well
@ nortierd: lived in Gauteng for 11 years and have to say, had a good time. But it became time to head home. No regrets.
@ nortierd: The coffee shop boy. Yes, I can imagine. Didn’t know he could read. Great batsman, yes. Watched his skill a few times. A very destructive batsman he was.
My problem is; I’m an addict. Spent 10 years of my life in boarding school so when we’d finished on the playing fields there was piss-all to do at night but read. So we read. Plenty. Habit stuck. Fortunately.
right. Now I’m done. Cheers.
The NZ player’s books are the best, especially Anton Oliver and Justin Marshall. McCaw also worthwhile. Just difficult to get here, so mostly have to order from overseas.
You are lucky to be in Cape Town.
Best bookshop to get rugby biographies is in Long Street, Select Books.
Great selection and many difficult to find overseas player’s books is found there
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