Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann was only able to finalise his team for Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against the Lions on Friday morning.
Ackermann was seen running through his 23-man squad at Loftus Versfeld shortly before the official announcement, and admitted selection decisions went right down to the wire.
“It was a challenging week with a few players who were 50-50. There were instances where players were not available at the beginning of the week, could be considered later and then ultimately had to sit out.
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“Someone like Canan [Moodie] was 50-50 and he trained with us, but he is still experiencing concussion symptoms here and there. Ruan Nortje returned from Scotland sick and we gave him as long as possible a chance, but we couldn’t select him.
“We wanted to maintain continuity as much as possible, but it was not in our control.”
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Only Springboks Handre Pollard and Kurt-Lee Arendse were retained in the backline that started in last weekend’s win against Edinburgh.
Willie le Roux was not considered due to national rest protocols, opening the door for Devon Williams at fullback, while Stravino Jacobs and Stedman Gans were promoted to the starting XV after Cheswill Jooste and Sebastian de Klerk suffered concussions in Scotland.
“The number of injuries has upset our plans, but someone like Stedman is waiting for a long time for a starting chance and so is Devon at fullback,” said Ackermann. “We wanted to maintain greater continuity, but we have great confidence in the players who are coming in.”
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Asked whether the Bulls were motivated by last November’s defeat to the Lions in Pretoria, Ackermann said “there was simply no time for such talk this week” after returning from a two-match European tour.
“It was about getting the players to recover. We waited nine hours in Paris for a connecting flight,” he said.
“It was a challenging week in terms of the uncertainty that there was about the availability of several players.
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“We are playing against an established team that is confident after the previous result. The Lions are also playing at home.”
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