SPOTLIGHT: It is back to the salt mines for two World Cup-winning Springboks at the Bulls as they prepare for their United Rugby Championship clash with the Lions at Ellis Park this weekend.
Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie took their enforced five-week break over December and last saw any rugby action in December.
But they will be without the services of fullback Willie le Roux, who is getting married this week.
The Bulls, who rank fourth overall in the URC and are the highest-ranked South African team, will play the Lions, who are presently positioned tenth on the log.
Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White was forced to rely on his reserves during the two Springboks’ protracted seven-week layoff. Fortunately, White’s risk paid off, as the team has already won six of its nine URC matches.
Sergeal Petersen, Devon Williams, and Sebastiaan de Klerk all more than fulfilled their roles; Williams in particular stood out with several excellent performances.
At the time, White said: “I’ve just decided, en masse, I would rather do it all together and bring them back. It doesn’t downplay one or the other.
“Some coaches, like the Sharks or the Stormers, would do it differently. They might do it for five weeks, but that five weeks might be in March and that is up to them.
“And the one thing is that I think the two wings work well together, so I’d rather have Canan and Kurt-Lee together than one and not the other.”
After the Bulls’ December 23 match against the Stormers, Le Roux played for the team on January 13 against Bristol, January 20 against Bordeaux for the Champions Cup, and January 27 against the Lions at Loftus.
Williams can probably return to the fullback position in Le Roux’s absence, as he did against Bristol when he was named Man of the Match.
It will be a massive boost for the team from Pretoria to have a player like Arendse back, whose stats on the social media account, Opta Johnny, indicate just how very special a player he is.
Arendse was the only player to gain over 90 metres per 80 minutes of the players that featured for over 800 minutes in major European club competitions in 2023.
He averaged 94m with the ball in hand per match, ahead of the Chiefs’ Josh Hodge and Melvyn Jaminet of Toulon, who both averaged 83m.
The little wing’s ability to spot a gap and move swiftly to take advantage of it has made him an impressive player for the Bulls.
The Bulls showered the Paarl native with accolades for his 2023 play, including Player of the Year, Players Player of the Year, and Fans Player of the Year. He also inked a contract extension that would last until 2026.
In his 15 Tests for the World Champion Boks, Arendse has ran in 13 of his attempts, demonstrating his explosive form in the green and gold.
