Sundiata Post – It may change as the week goes on, but for now it seems that Cameron Hanekom is likely to face Zebre this coming week despite taking a knock to his lower back for the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship win over Leinster on Saturday.
But the bigger concern at the moment is that of Johan Grobbelaar, who was nursing a shoulder injury after the game and depending on how he reacts, could determine whether he takes the field on Saturday against Leinster or not.
Hanekom’s situation though is also fluid – as the last time he took a knock, he was out for a number of weeks and missed some of the local derbies as a result. Therefore, as the Bulls don’t send out injury updates, their faithful fans will have to wait until Friday before they know if they are able to count on either player.
Hanekom – the Bulls “Racehorse” – as coach Jake White has referred to him – went off in the 47th minute and was replaced by Marco van Staden. He had just returned for this game.
Those two injuries will be the main focus point in the team’s selection meeting as well as finding a replacement for Sebastian de Klerk, who is more than likely to be banned for a few weeks after taking out Andrew Osborne in the air and receiving a red card for his troubles.
Normally it would be an easy choice with Canan Moodie likely to come in for De Klerk, but White has not indicated if Moodie is injured or not, or if he is just resting. The silence out of the Bulls camp is deliberate, as they don’t want to tip off their opposition – as White explains – as to who will be available or who not.
If Moodie is indeed injured, then Devon Williams is likely to fill the wing position, or White can rest on Sergeal Petersen to take the place of the winger. With Zebre being a team that likes to play loose and runs from all over the park, the opposition strengths will no doubt be also a factor in who gets selected for the position.
White wasn’t too perturbed over Hanekom after the game, saying: “He fell badly and twisted his lower back. It was just a fall and a spasm in his lower back.
“And when you are a racehorse like he is and because they are so athletic they feel it more than other players. I don’t think it is serious. He is walking around now.”
White went on to say the win had come at a cost.
“But it has come at a cost because you can imagine, a red card and he will be out next week. Grobbies is sitting with a sore shoulder, so we will have to see how he goes. One of the things that is so tough about this competition is that every week we lose between two and three players.
“You either get a suspension or an HIA or a long-term injury. If you work it out, what happens is you have 55 players with two and a half a week not available, after five, six weeks of consecutive rugby. If we win every game now, we’ve got 13 more Saturdays that we play, consecutively.
“So to have a bench like we did, can only be positive for us.”
The Bulls will name their side for the clash against Zebre, who came very close to beating the Sharks in Durban last weekend, on Friday.
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