Jóhann Thormählen

Bloemfontein - The race is on to find an understudy for experienced Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss at Free State following the recent retirement of Skipper Badenhorst.

PW van Vuuren and Michael van Vuuren are next in line and could establish themselves in the Currie Cup in the absence of Strauss, who is playing for the Springboks in the Tri-Nations.

Both Van Vuurens were in action in Saturday's 40-12 win over the Leopards here.

Badenhorst (32) had been contracted by Free State until the end of October, but coach Naka Drotské said that he had retired due to a back injury.

He still played for the Cheetahs in this year's Super Rugby tournament and for Free State in the Vodacom Cup.

He sustained a groin injury in the Vodacom Cup quarter-final against the Pampas XV and underwent an operation so that he could be fit for the start of the Currie Cup. However, a specialist has subsequently recommended that he should retire.

"Skipper is finished with rugby. His back has taken a lot of knocks during the course of his career and he decided to retire after consulting with a specialist," said Drotské.

Drotské experimented with a number of youngsters in the first Currie Cup match against the Cheetahs, but should think longer about a starting line-up for Saturday's match against the Blue Bulls.

Hooker, in particular, is a position that he will have to think about as whoever he picks there will be up against Gary Botha. While the Bulls are without a host of experienced players, Botha is everything but a new face. The former Springbok hooker is not their captain without good reason and will be looking forward to a showdown with a youngster.

The promising PW van Vuuren has been viewed as a star of the future for a while, but injuries prevented him from making his mark at senior level earlier.

The 23-year-old hooker underwent neck surgery in February and recently made his return as a substitute against the Leopards.

Drotské said last week that PW would probably have started against the Leopards had Free State team doctor Ian Morris not recommended that he only plays for 30 minutes.

Michael, who wore the No 2 jersey against the Leopards, recently played for the SA under-20 side at the Junior World Championship in Italy and had a solid Currie Cup debut on Saturday.

He suffered a minor injury to his upper leg, but is recovering very well.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs Bulletin states that a decision about the availability of flyhalf Sias Ebersohn will be taken on Wednesday. Ebersohn injured his ankle early in the match against the Leopards and left the field as a precautionary measure.