JJ Harmse

Pretoria – Pierre Spies carried the ball 169 times in the Bulls’ triumphant Super14 campaign last year.

That means that the tough-as-teak No 8 had the ball in his hands an average of 11 times per game.

He was in possession 23 times more than Zane Kirchner, who as fullback regularly has to field kicks. Kirchner was the Bulls player to carry the ball the second most times.

It is no wonder then that there were such broad smiles at the Bulls’ tough training session at Loftus Versfeld’s B field on Monday when Spies completed the training session without any apparent discomfort.

The gamebreaker missed the Bulls’ training games against the Lions because of a troublesome hamstring, but appears to be ready to take on the Cheetahs with his storming runs in Bloemfontein on Friday.

His work-rate was one of the major contributing factors to the Bulls’ success last season. He cleaned the second most rucks, had the fifth most line-breaks and spread the ball the fifth most times.

Of course, Spies also scored seven tries.

There is more good news about the fitness of Francois Hougaard.

The Bok scrumhalf has still not shown any discomfort from the knee injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. He is expected to be in the starting team announced by Bulls coach Frans Ludeke on Tuesday.

Hougaard will run out on the left wing and thanks to his versatility, Ludeke will probably have the luxury of picking five forwards on his substitutes bench.

The chances are good that he will have an entire front row on the bench and judging by Monday’s scrumming session with Balie Swart, the Bulls are serious about their scrumming.

A series of live scrums also showed that Ludeke will not be shy to let Spies play off right shoulders.

Hougaard, who will make his Super rugby debut at wing in the same way that Spies did, will probably keep the unfortunate John Mametsa out of the team.

It will mean that the Bulls will have one of the youngest wing combinations in the country in Hougaard (22) and Gerhard van den Heever (21).

Mametsa did not put a foot wrong against the Lions and is a proven player, but Hougaard’s x-factor already ensured that he got Springbok colours at the end of last season.

Apart from Van den Heever, the Bulls’ entire backline will consist of Springboks and backline coach Pieter Rossouw expects his troops to be ready for battle.

“We have one or two new things that we would like to try against the Cheetahs,” said Rossouw.

Possible Bulls team:
Zane Kirchner, Gerhard van den Heever, Jaco Pretorius, Wynand Olivier, Francois Hougaard, Morné Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Pedrie Wannenburg, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield, Danie Rossouw, Werner Kruger, Gary Botha, Gurthrö Steenkamp. Substitutes: Bandise Maku, Jaco Engels, Bees Roux, Flip van der Merwe, Gerrit-Jan van Velze, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, John Mametsa.