The Vodacom Bulls have received a welcome boost ahead of their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour match against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday with Springboks Elrigh Louw and Johan Grobbelaar being released to play for the franchise in the match.
Louw and Grobbelaar both played for the Springboks against Argentina in Buenos Aires, with Grobbelaar scoring the winning try in a low-scoring match.
But because both haven’t trained with the Bulls team this week, they will play off the bench, giving the Bulls some extra depth in their quest to trouble the tourists in their third match of the South African tour.
“Having been released to get more game time ahead of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, Springboks Elrigh Louw and Johan Grobbelaar have been drafted into the Vodacom Bulls’ squad for tomorrow’s match against the All Blacks,” a team statement read.
“They will play off the bench as they have had just a single training session with the team after travelling back from Argentina.
Said coach Johan Ackermann: “It’s great to have them with us, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Because of the change, Mpilo Gumede and Juandre Schoeman fall out of the matchday 23.
The addition is something that a lot of fans have been calling for from the Boks, who are hard at camp preparing for the three tests in South Africa that start next week.
And it will be a bit of a relief, as comments by Bulls coach Johan Ackermann have made it sound as if the Bulls aren’t too confident of beating the All Blacks, given the timing of the game.
“It’s a great privilege and I have huge respect for the All Blacks, who they are and the rugby they play. It will be a great occasion,” Ackermann said in naming his side for the clash.
“But in the context of the season, we won’t be where we want to be and the way we could play, we will be a bit of a way off.
"Our season went long and we had to give the players some form of break and so since they have returned we have tried to balance the conditioning and the new rugby things we wanted to bring into our game.
“The side was also hit with flu last week which affected a lot of players, so it hasn’t been a perfect build-up and we also know we are judged by our performances in the URC - so we have to perform a balancing act.
“We definitely won’t be match fit and sharp but we will be as well prepared as we can for this time of the season.”
Ackermann’s players have been back in training for three weeks of their pre-season for this game.