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Cape Town - Most coaches wouldn’t see it as a problem, but Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais has a welcome headache this week when he makes his selection for Friday night’s Absa Currie Cup game against the Free State Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld.
According to the supersport.com website, one of the unluckiest players not to be selected for the Springboks, midfielder Jan Serfontein has returned to Loftus this week to continue in the Currie Cup.
Serfontein's return coincides with his SA under-20 midfield partner William Small-Smith also being declared fit from injury.
But it isn’t as if the Bulls are seriously short of midfielders as they continue their unbeaten start to the Currie Cup season either. The current duo of Burger Odendaal and Dries Swanepoel have been exceptional in their play of late and Swanepoel scored twice in the big win over Griquas on the weekend.
So Marais now sits with the headache of how to make four go into three – with one unlucky player likely to lose out on one of the two starting berths and a place on the bench this weekend when they host the Cheetahs.
All four deserve to be playing at this level and it shows the depth of riches that the Bulls have at the moment, and the frustration that one of them will miss out.
Small-Smith ironically has decided to pledge his future to the Cheetahs after being ignored for a large part of the Vodacom Super Rugby season by former coach Frans Ludeke, so he will know that next year he will face his teammates in a different jersey.
The return of Roelof Smit, who looked exceptionally good ahead of picking up an injury against Western Province is also a boost for the Bulls, who also have Deon Stegmann still two weeks from returning.
Smit was chased hard by Western Province but committed to the Bulls for two more years and they will be keen to see what he can add to the side.
One interesting aspect will be to see if Marais does anything about the faltering scrum, which has creaked more than ever in the past few games and seems to be a recurring theme.
