Chiliboy gets chance to shine

Botha saw a specialist on Wednesday for a niggling ankle injury and underwent a procedure on Thursday to rectify the ankle. According to the Bulls, although there was no need for an operation to repair ligaments as expected, the player will still be out of action for at least two months.

Ralepelle will start for the Bulls this weekend in the crucial final league fixture against Griquas in Kimberley and Ludeke has no doubts that while Ralepelle has his critics, he certainly is the number one hooker in the province at the moment.

Ralepelle came under some criticism after throwing a wayward pass against Western Province last weekend that resulted in a try for Gio Aplon. While the Bulls still won, and Ralepelle has accepted blame for the mistake, Ludeke was still forced to answer questions this week about the hooker.

“Chili is definitively our best hooker now that Gary is out. We are blessed with three top hookers and while some people might not see it, Chili does a lot of work around the field and I rate him very highly,” Ludeke said.

“Mistakes happen on the field and he put his hand up and accepted responsibility. He made a decision and it turned out to be the wrong one but it is more about how he bounces back. It can happen to any player.

Two minutes later he made a crucial turnover for us, which shows he has the mental capacity to go far.” Ralepelle has sometimes been hampered by a lack of playing time, especially at national level, and has struggled to make the number one hooking spot his own at the Bulls this season.

But now that Botha is ruled out, a big responsibility rests on the former Pretoria Boys High pupil, and there is no doubt that his coaches believe he has what it takes to become a Springbok great for the province.

Botha meanwhile, will be cooling his heels on the sidelines and hoping for a good victory to set up a semi-final for his team-mates next weekend.

“He will be wearing a moon boot for the next couple of weeks, but because there was no operation, Gary should be back to play in the new year,”

Vodacom Bulls team doctor, Org Strauss, said. Ludeke was obviously disappointed to lose a player of Botha’s class. “It is very unfortunate to lose a world class player like Gary at this stage of the season. He brings leadership and valuable experience to our squad and will be missed. We are very fortunate to have two international players left in that position in Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bandise Maku and we expect them to deliver the goods for us,” Ludeke said.

Teams:

Griquas:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Rocco Jansen, 13. Jean Stemmet, 12. Barry Geel, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Naas Olivier (captain), 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Leon Karemaker, 7. Wesley Wilkins, 6. Justin Downey, 5. Cecil Kemp, 4. Frikkie Spies, 3. Jean Botha, 2. Rayno Barnes, 1. Steph Roberts

Replacements: 16. Simon Westraadt, 17. Jacobie Adriaanse, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Gerhard Human, 20. Marnus Hugo, 21. Wilmaure Louw, 22. Rudi Vogt

Blue Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Wynand Olivier, 11. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 10. Morné Steyn,9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Danie Rossouw, 7. Dewald Potgieter, 6. Derick Kuün, 5. Victor Matfield (captain), 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Dean Greyling

Replacements: 16. Bandise Maku, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Jaco Engels, 19. Flip van der Merwe, 20. CJ Stander, 21. Ruan Snyman, 22. Jacques-Louis Potgieter