Currie Cup
Bulls sweat over Potgieter
2012-08-20 22:32
Johannesburg - The Blue Bulls will be hoping for a smidgen of good news ahead of their big Currie Cup encounter against the Sharks on Saturday night as captain Dewald Potgieter’s fitness is still in doubt.
Potgieter was named in the team that eventually lost to the Cheetahs last Friday, but sat out the captain’s practice and missed the game because of a haematoma on his upper thigh.
By Monday he still wasn’t training but there was hope that it would recover ahead of the crucial home fixture against the competition’s pace setters this week.
“We’ll take a decision by Wednesday, right now we can’t say either way,” team doctor Org Strauss told supersport.com after being quizzed about the injury.
Potgieter is one of the few experienced players in the young team and his captaincy would be a great boost for the side ahead of the big match.
However, while Potgieter’s injury took the spotlight on Monday, there was some good news about loose forward Arno Botha, who missed the clash against the Cheetahs.
He looks to have recovered from the injury and will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday, but is expected to find his way back into the starting line-up.
Which all leaves an interesting selection quandary for coach Pine Pienaar, especially as CJ Stander was the best player on the field in the Cheetah loss, scoring two tries and looking hungry for action.
A decision will also have to be taken in the midfield, where Johann Sadie is set to return to the fold, if Pienaar’s comments last week were to be believed.
However, the current midfield of Francois Venter and Ulrich Beyers have hardly put a foot wrong, while replacement Jan Serfontein deserves more of a run there, so it will leave an interesting position for Pienaar when he selects his team.
Strauss also confirmed a further 2-3 weeks before Bjorn Basson makes his return to action, while their two Boks - Pierre Spies (8 weeks) and Chiliboy Ralepelle (4 weeks) still have a while out before returning to action.