Francois Hougaard has recovered from injury and is likely to start against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The 21-year-old, who debuted for the Springboks against Italy in 2009, injured his knee in pre-season and it was initially feared that he would miss the opening match of their campaign.

However, Bulls team doctor Org Strauss confirmed to keo.co.za that he was ‘very optimistic’ about Hougaard’s participation.

‘We’ll make a final call after training this afternoon but I fully expect him to be ready for Friday,’ Strauss said.

Despite being a specialist scrumhalf, Hougaard is expected to start on the wing, where he performed well for the Bulls in 2009. He’ll be deployed there until Akona Ndungane returns from injury in early March, with Heini Adams providing cover for incumbent No 9 Fourie du Preez.

Elsewhere there is a selection poser for coach Frans Ludeke. Openside flank Deon Stegmann has performed consistently well for the Bulls in the last two seasons, but Derick Kuün’s reversion to his favoured position after a stint as a hooker has turned up the heat on Stegmann.

In an interview with keo.co.za on Monday, Bulls director of rugby Heyneke Meyer explained that the new breakdown law interpretations would necessitate that an openside flank now be required to play a greater role offensively, where in the past he was largely utilised in a defensive capacity.

Kuün is arguably the superior ball carrier and has become accustomed to mixing in the tight, which could strengthen his case for inclusion ahead of Stegmann. Whoever is selected will be tasked with outshining incumbent Springbok openside Heinrich Brussow – an arduous task in itself.

No 8 Pierre Spies, also recovered from a hamstring injury, and Pedrie Wannenberg (regular blindside flank Dewald Potgieter is sidelined until late March) should comprise the remainder of the loose trio.

However, while Meyer stressed that team selection was Ludeke’s domain, he explained that playing Kuün and Stegmann in tandem wasn’t impossible.

‘Derick is a pretty balanced flank in terms of his ability to carry the ball or play towards it, so he could play blindside,’ he told this website.

‘That said, playing the two of them together means you have one less lineout option, so Frans will have to weigh up the pros and cons if he decides to play Steggies and Derick together.’

It also remains to be seen who Ludeke prefers to partner Victor Matfield in the second row. Flip van der Merwe started the Bulls’ only warm-up match in the position, but it is expected that Danie Rossouw, injured for the aforementioned match, will line up alongside his Springbok team-mate.

Bulls (likely) - 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van den Heerver, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.

By Ryan Vrede

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 5:35 am and is filed under Super 14. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.