Bulls star scrumhalf, Fourie du Preez gave the coaching staff and players of the Bulls quite a scare on the eve of their Australasian Tour, twisting an ankle in practise on Tuesday.
While Du Preez will travel with his teammates to Perth this week, for the opening match of their Australasian tour against the Western Force on Saturday, he is a doubtful starter.
Du Preez twisted his ankle, the second time in the past fortnight, on an uneven surface at Loftus Versfeld.
Springbok utility back Francois Hougaard, who has been playing on the wing for the Bulls, will move back to scrumhalf if Du Preez is ruled out.
Heini Adams, who damaged his ribs in a Vodacom Cup match a few weeks ago, is also not available yet.
Ruan Snyman has been placed on standby, but won’t be travelling with the team.
All in all, selecting no stand-in to immediatelty travel with the Bulls indicates that the injury is not of a serious nature and one feels almost as if the hand of fate has decided that Fourie du Preez might just need a rest anyway against the No 14 Team in the Competition.
Hope he is not as sore as i am tonight. I broke a toe in my foot more than a week ago and today it gave me hell. Not such a good idea to climb ladders with n broken toe.
Guys i really worked hard in the salt mines today so i am off to a early bed. May you all have a nice evening.
Cheers Super. That sounds painful a sore toe. Hope it heals quick.
Read this about FdP on rugby365 earlier. Probably will be good in the long run for him to get a rest. Just hope he is ready for the Blues game.
Well, I hope that the 2 players with slightly twisted ankles on Tour, Fourie du Preez and Dewald Potgieter, will be just fine…
The Bulls rotation policy or rest policy will now start facing it’s biggest tests as we hit the middle stages… and on Tour.
I trust Frans Ludeke though, having now spoken to him a few times, the man seems to have a solid head on his shoulders… funny how one’s perception totally changes as you meet someone in person and you are then more able to make a correct personality assessment….
Frans is no poephol and he has a gentle air of authority about him, no windgat houding, just open honesty, which would certainly inspire player confidence… and continue to cultivate that family feeling at the Bulls.
I tell you… and you can believe it… It’s marvelous to be a Bulls Supporter!
3 – The Bulls are doing us proud….
Last time I twisted my ankle I fell off my platform shoes!! 🙂
#4 Blue Bird I know that feeling 🙂 Platform shoes are a killer lol – more dangerous than togs lol
I often wonder, and it is something I would like to take up with someone like Prof Tim Noakes….
In aeronautical terms we talk about an airframe suffering from metal fatigue… in other words the wings and body and frame of a high performance plane has a certain lifespan due to constant bending and stretching of metal parts under enormous stress and pressure, the metal in fact degrades sufficiently making it much, much more fragile or capable of failing…
Similarly the body, bones and frame of these extreme rugby athletes must take some serious stress and constant bending and stretching, causing degrading of bone and muscle structures over time… the only difference being that the human body regenerates… but is regeneration fast enough and complete enough?
I sometimes think that the so-called sick-note players are symptomatic of not enough regenerative recuperation before severe stress is seen again…
Is this why we see so many repeat-injuries to the same players on the same parts of their bodies?
How does one truly combat this without taking a player out for a year or 2 at a time?
4 – Blue Bird..hehe. 😉
7@ Puma – Hey jy moenie vir die girls wink nie, jou vrou gaan jou kruppel… of nog meer kruppel moer… hahahaha
8 – GBS, hehehehe. I remember someone saying the same think about a year back on Voldy…. me thinks I know who it could be….hehehe.
think = thing
Okay out of here. Going to switch the lights out. Everyone has gone to sleep.
Catch up tomorrow. Out go the lights.
switch the lights off sounds better 😎
The Bulls boarded the plane to Perth a motivated bunch, but there is also some concern over injured scrumhalf Fourie du Preez.
The scrumhalf injured the same ankle during Tuesday’s final training session in South Africa – which also left prop Gurthrö Steenkamp with a bloodied mouth – than he did in a warm-up session two weeks ago.
Du Preez was immediately treated with ice and the ankle strapped.
“It is not a good time for him to injure the ankle now,” Bulls team doctor Org Strauss said before the team’s departure.
“The ankle is likely to swell as we will be in the air for six hours. We will strap it as tightly as possible to limit the swelling. Fourie will not have a pleasant flight because he will be in pain.”
Du Preez celebrates his birthday on Wednesday and the present he will be looking for is the news that he will be able to play against the Western Force.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke is not concerned. “I believe he will be ready. If necessary, we will bring Ruan Snyman over, but hopefully Fourie will be all right.”
If Du Preez is not 100%, Francois Hougaard is likely to start at scrumhalf, with Jaco van der Westhuyzen coming in on the left wing.
Jaco Pretorius will also return as Wynand Olivier’s centre partner.
Pretorius showed with his running lines during training how dangerous the Bulls can be at the back.
Even so, Ludeke is not concerned if opponents want to spoil the Bulls’ quick possession at the breakdowns.
In that case the Bulls can simply revert to a tactical kicking plan. Few players can match Du Preez and Morné Steyn in such a duel.
Heal quickly!
Good opportunity for Hougaard to go a full game at 9. Very glad to the two Jaco’s also being given a full game.
super @ 13
“Pretorius showed with his running lines during training how dangerous the Bulls can be at the back”
😯 yeah bru, even in my playing days those cones and tackle bags couldnt tackle, hehehe
anyway bru
i’m not so sure about the willingness of the bulls to run the ball … they didnt look very convincing last weekend!!
yes, if this new approach comes off, then they’ll be an extremely difficult team to deal with
but
if it doesnt, you may find yourself having to catch-up to the rest of the pack because you have moved so far from your strenghts!!
hokaai @ 14
on fourie and hougaardt … i think it will be a setback for the bulls if hougaardt need to cover 9. i think he’s done well on the wing thus far and would have liked to see how he develop in that position.
btw
morné posted a thread yesterday on versatile players … well maybe THIS is the player (hougaardt) and not pienaar?
13 – Super, Flying time to Perth from Joburg is around 8 and a half hours, with the wind on the back. Come back from Perth around 10 and a half hours. Flying into strong winds.
I do hope that ankle of Fourie was strapped really well. Flying with a twisted ankle could cause dvt (thrombosis) I am sure though they strapped that ankle well to stop that happening. Need to wear the compression socks to stop it though as it puts on the proper compression while flying but that is without a hurt ankle. So strapping it was probably better. They know best. So hope he is fine now.
Put Fourie on the bench and start with Hougaard is an option…
If they don’t it’s probably no where as serious as it sounds, they won’t risk him.
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