With their Investec Champions Cup campaign finished for another season, the biggest question for the Vodacom Bulls probably was who is fit and ready to face defending champions Munster as Vodacom United Rugby Championship action returns this Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
The fact that Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White left 14 regulars at home and was lambasted for his squad choices for the quarterfinal against Northampton Saints has dominated the airwave for the past few days.
But with a new week comes new challenges. And the proof will be just who will line up against Munster this coming Saturday.
Ruan Nortje is still struggling with a hamstring injury, while Marco van Staden’s knee injury has him also out. Marcell Coetzee also has a knee injury that is likely to put him out for the remainder of the season.
But further than that, it is anyone’s guess just who will be fit for Saturday’s game.
And as always, White isn’t telling.
The Bulls Director of Rugby wants to try and keep everyone in the dark until Friday’s team announcement, when it will be revealed who will take the field on Saturday in the vital game that could secure the Bulls a semifinal spot.
With their next four games at home, the Bulls want to create momentum and go on a galloping run into the playoffs, hopefully securing a home semifinal for the championship to give themselves the best chance of winning their first title.
White made it clear on Saturday that he wouldn’t be giving away any secrets, even though Munster are likely to expect a full-strength Bulls side.
JAKE'S NOT TELLING
On the form of Saturday night’s clash at Franklin Gardens and the injuries to loose forwards, you could expect Cameron Hanekom and Celimpilo Gumede to be among those chosen for the game, as would Sebastian de Klerk after another impressive performance.
“One of the things that’s difficult about being a coach is I’m simply not going to tell you who is injured when we’ve a big game the next week, The reality is it’s a competitive industry I’m in and as soon as I tell you, you got 12 injuries and five might not play next week, the opposition see it. No one does that. You know, I can’t go on Google or the Northampton website and find out how many guys got injured last week, can I? So the reality is, I can only control what I can control,” White said after the Northampton game.
“I don’t think that is the way you should do it, to tell people a week out who could and could not play.
“I think any team would appreciate that you try and keep your selection as close as possible to the game. Things change during the week, and I would rather make sure that I find out when I get back who has recovered, who has gone in, how the operations look.
“As it stands, there are a lot of guys that I am considering playing because I don’t know how many of the guys I left behind are going to be ready after a week of rehab.”
Time will tell and it is likely the Bulls will have a much stronger side for the Loftus clash.
But as always, it won’t be a dull week at Loftus.