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Hendricks joins Bulls for medical testing

Pretoria - The Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd on Thursday announced that former Springbok and Blitzbok wing, Cornal Hendricks, has joined the Bulls for medical and fitness testing.

Hendricks will train with the Pretoria franchise and undergo a number of medical tests and if all results are positive, will possibly join the Bulls for the upcoming Super Rugby season.

The speedster, who played Super Rugby for the Cheetahs and scored five tries for the Springboks in 12 Tests, has been inactive since a heart condition was diagnosed early in 2016.

The player is keen to return to the playing field pending medical clearance and according to the BBC’s High Performance Manager, Xander Janse van Rensburg, they will be happy to see Hendricks continuing his career as a Bulls player.

"We understand the potential health issues and risks and have asked a number of leading specialists in their field to give us their assessments. Cornal is a world-class player and we will be delighted to have him in our squad, but player welfare has always been a non-negotiable priority in the Bulls set-up and will always be seen more important than short term results. We are confident that Cornal will be cleared and will join us," Janse van Rensburg said.

In December last year, Hendricks headed for French club Toulon but the club did not offer him a contract after undergoing medical tests.

Somewhat confusingly, on Wednesday the Bulls confirmed that the reason the union didn't offer fit and healthy stalwart Bjorn Basson a Super Rugby contract for this season was that he didn't form part of their long-term plans.

However, they appear willing to gamble on the fitness of Hendricks.

Basson has subsequently signed a contract with the Stormers - who the Bulls will face in their opening 2017 Super Rugby clash at Newlands on Saturday, February 25 at 19:30.

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