Hougaard good to go
8 Feb 2010
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
60 Comments
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8 Feb 2010, 11:14 am
go bulls
8 Feb 2010, 11:17 am
I was under the impression that Spies would not be ready for this game.
8 Feb 2010, 11:19 am
Now lets see if the Bulls will come out to feed.
8 Feb 2010, 11:38 am
“go you good thing, go!”
8 Feb 2010, 11:44 am
MMMMMMM…..te min swart spelers.??
8 Feb 2010, 11:47 am
The time has come…
8 Feb 2010, 11:47 am
@kwensie:
Thankfully we live in a non-racial society, with the most modern, liberal constitution in the world, where people are judged purely on merit, and not by the colour of their skin.
Hence, the issue you’ve raised cannot possibly be a problem.
8 Feb 2010, 11:49 am
@Tacitus: LOLZ, you must be Australian.
8 Feb 2010, 12:07 pm
If Bandise Maku is not injured, he sjould leave the Bulls now, How the **** does Gary Botha make it ahead of Bandise?, let the boy play!!! FFS!!!!
8 Feb 2010, 12:11 pm
Xhosa, cause Gary is 100 times better than Maku. Maku will battle to make the EP side
8 Feb 2010, 12:12 pm
@XhosaKid:
Chilliboy Rallapele even makes it ahead of Bandise. How much more obvious should Gary Botha’s selection not be, since he is better than Chilliboy as well.
Get rid of the emotion, and you’ll no doubt see it the same way.
8 Feb 2010, 12:15 pm
ahaa, the Bulls fans are going at each other, finaly some Bulls action.
8 Feb 2010, 12:17 pm
@XhosaKid: People were saying the same thing about Burton Francis, and he has ended up at a team where he is on the bench behind a 34 year old has been. The grass is rarely brighter on the other side.
Which team in South Africa, other than maybe the Lions, would Maku start for?
8 Feb 2010, 12:18 pm
@WOLFMAN21: Messing up my metaphors, how embarrassing.
8 Feb 2010, 12:22 pm
@rashied: quiet clearly you know very little about rugby
8 Feb 2010, 12:24 pm
@XhosaKid: Where should he rather play? Which team?
8 Feb 2010, 12:29 pm
xhosakid, based on the maku comment, neither do you. stick to soccer bud
8 Feb 2010, 12:30 pm
@WOLFMAN21: @13, Lions is the answer but not while “****” Muir is there, that ******* played Warren Britz ahead of a young and inform Solly Tyibilika, and then people wonder why quotas must be enforced. Its Dejavu, the more things change the more the stay the same
In 2006:
“Coach **** Muir has gone with veteran loose forward Warren Britz at No 6 and named Samoan import Daniel Farani on the bench for Saturday’s match against the Chiefs in Durban. It is a selection that will no doubt irk Bok coach Jake White who has spent the last two years trying to convince the Sharks that Tyibilika is good enough to play in the Vodacom Super 14.
Tyibilika earlier in the week told keo.co.za that he needed regular game time ahead of the World Cup and was in the best form of his life. In Bok conditioning tests held over the last year, Tyibilika was always the fittest loose forward in the squad.”
8 Feb 2010, 12:32 pm
@rashied: Soccer?, why soccer?
8 Feb 2010, 12:33 pm
lmao tyibilika? you must be kidding… okay thats me out. Its like talking woordwork & geography with malema
8 Feb 2010, 12:33 pm
@XhosaKid:
Just ignore him, he’s been trolling all day on a number of threads.
8 Feb 2010, 12:35 pm
@XhosaKid:
It’s Pietman … ignore.
8 Feb 2010, 12:37 pm
@XhosaKid: I that is what you feel towards **** Muir, I would think that the Bulls is the best place for Maku’s development at the moment. A good culture, a winning team, good history of developing players.
He is better off on the bench for the Bulls than starting for the current Lions team, or on the bench for any of the other unions, some of which have a history of not getting the best out of their “players of colour”. Shimange, Tyibilika and Sephaka spring to mind.
8 Feb 2010, 12:40 pm
@WP Till I Die: tah!
8 Feb 2010, 13:05 pm
so francois is fit, great news…lionel mapoe must be smiling…
8 Feb 2010, 13:38 pm
Those of you who still want to play in the S14 superbru
The easiest way to get people in is to give them your pool code and send them to www superbru com/super14
Your pool code(s) are:
Keo’s muppits: wrenlest
8 Feb 2010, 14:36 pm
@Pearl Rose:
come on pearly say it….
you know you want to…
8 Feb 2010, 14:55 pm
@rashied: Is this the Gary Botha who struggled to be blooded into the Harlequins first 15? Clearly you are sticking to a fridge …
8 Feb 2010, 15:04 pm
@scar:
In contrast, Bandise Maku would no doubt have walked into the Harlequins starting 15?
8 Feb 2010, 15:11 pm
To be brutally honest…. Maku does exactly what Hannes Strydom always did…
as soon an he sees contact coming he fall on the ground and places the ball…
don’t insult me…. just have a look next time….
honestly … he needs to grow a pair…
(not to say i don’t support him when he has the Blue jumper on….)
8 Feb 2010, 15:20 pm
@Tacitus: No, just think that Gary is a great Currie Cup player.
Maku is better than what most rate him, but I think that the Bulls have not had a great (tight) hooker for many years now. Therefore their scrum might be a potential focus for opposition sides.
8 Feb 2010, 15:21 pm
Hey staal. Jy kannie so van ons Springbok haker praat nie!
8 Feb 2010, 15:24 pm
Scar
At the very least Gary will be a stronger scrummager than Kuun. Also, back when he packed down with Kees Lensing, Bands or Andries Human beside him the Bulls had the strongets scrum in the competition.
8 Feb 2010, 15:24 pm
@gunther: did you detect any hysterics in my previous comments.
8 Feb 2010, 15:39 pm
@Staal:
we will send him to bakkies for etiquette lessons….
by the way my email is barney3 @ mweb dot co dot za
if you send me a blank email I will send you back my info etc…
8 Feb 2010, 15:44 pm
@Pearl Rose:
you were on the edge…I could tell…
8 Feb 2010, 15:54 pm
The Bulls are seating on a diamond and they dont even know it, what a pity, let the boy play then judge him.
8 Feb 2010, 16:04 pm
@XhosaKid:bandise also has a mind of his own, why keep renewing a contract that guarantees that you are a 2nd class citizen?
@gunther: lol…yeah right
8 Feb 2010, 16:09 pm
@Pearl Rose: Since when has being on the bench to a superior and more experienced player in the best club competition made someone a second class citizen?
Maku does not have a right to play, and if someone is better than him, than he certainly doesn’t have a right to play.
8 Feb 2010, 16:12 pm
A better question to ask is why was Bandise and Chilliboy both picked for the Boks last year, but the guy who was chosen above them for the Bulls, who was the S14 winning hooker, was overlooked?
That certainly had the Aussie commentators scratching their heads. If you are looking for some REAL injustice, that’s a prime candidate right there.
8 Feb 2010, 16:22 pm
@Tacitus:which aussie commentators?
@WOLFMAN21:clearly xhosakid does not believe derick kuun is better than bandise let alone gary botha…
8 Feb 2010, 16:24 pm
Please re-read the quote @18, then you will understand injustice and the south african rugby way
8 Feb 2010, 16:26 pm
A 2nd class citizen .. even by your standards that’s pushing it…I mean honestly what do you mean?
8 Feb 2010, 16:53 pm
@gunther: i detect a certain level of frothing @ the mouth, calm down. xhosakid has put post 18 and followed it up with the diamond analogy to show what he thinks of the situation. So i’m asking xhosakid why does bandise keep renewing a contract with a team that does not value his abilities? (in xhosakid’s opinion)
If one is working for, let us say, investec and he/she think they are better that some of the okes that are getting promotions and they keep getting skipped for some reason, it would be sensible for them to first find out what the story is and if if they re not satisfied with the answers, not renew their contract and move elsewhere where their skills will be appreciated.
8 Feb 2010, 17:05 pm
But how does his contract “guarantee” that he is a second class citizen?
Do you think maybe fourie had the same sort of contract at the lions and that’s why he left them ???
8 Feb 2010, 17:17 pm
@gunther: yes he did.
8 Feb 2010, 17:32 pm
@gunther: in the world where bandise is a diamond that is being sat on, the contract he keeps signing guarantees him second class citizen status…get it now!
8 Feb 2010, 17:37 pm
Then surely the right thing for maku to do would be to leave…
why do you think he didn’t… could it be that he doesn’t feel like a second class citizen and you are merely feeling like one on his behalf…
8 Feb 2010, 17:48 pm
@Pearl Rose:
I would not waste my time on this apologist for apartheid who all seem to congregate on the Keo site. They are always so defensive,purely out of guilt and masked shame.
He is merely but desparately trying to save ‘lost” face.
He is just another of those myriads of Mr.-I-want-to-be -right-because-I-am white-types who are so happy that the ANC allowed them to still control the economy. If nationalisation occurs next week you will not find them in S.A. for much longer.
8 Feb 2010, 18:45 pm
@gunther: #48 lmao…now you are reaching. The question was for xhosakid to answer, not yourself.
You do not think Bandise is being treated by the bulls, Xhosakid feels otherwise, no need for all the hysteria.
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