By Brenden Nel.
Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White has some head scratching to do with his backline ahead of the clash against the Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.
While the loss of both Canan Moodie (hamstring) and S’bu Nkosi (concussion) has meant that the momentum that the back three has already created has been stunted, White will need to figure out the best attacking and defensive qualities of a backline whose members are all rather versatile at the moment.
For instance, the decision at fullback may look simple, but White has a number of options he can try – not just moving David Kriel back from 12 to 15, or starting Kurt-Lee Arendse at fullback as he did for most of last season.
Wandisile Simelane, who moved to the Bulls from the Lions in the off-season, played at fullback for his new side in the opening game of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship against his old side and could also be a possibility.
Apart from the above, if Kriel is kept at inside centre, it leaves some questions at 13 where both Cornal Hendricks and Simelane can slot in as well. Hendricks has played both on the wing and at centre over the past few seasons and Simelane can slot into the midfield with ease.
Add to this the options of a returning Harold Vorster, who was instrumental in the Bulls campaign last season and Lionel Mapoe’s continued presence and White is set to have a number of options from which he can choose and a number of different combinations that he can unleash against the Warriors.
The Bulls will be looking to make the most of a game where the Warriors have already said they want to run the South African team off their feet, and will be looking for some valuable points away from home as well.
White has often said the team want to play a more expansive game and will therefore be likely to answer the Warriors’ call by fighting fire with fire and try and exploit some of the frailties that have crept into the Warriors’ game in the early part of the season.
Without Johan Grobbelaar they will also have to find a replacement at hooker and while Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been deputising on the bench, it will be interesting to see if he or the veteran Bismarck du Plessis come into the starting line-up or whether White goes with a left-field option of young Joe van Zyl, who has also been in and out of sides over the past two years.
Either way the Bulls don’t seem to be too hampered in the pack, but they will want to see consistency in their performances and are likely to pick the best option for themselves in this regard.
The team will name their side for the Warriors game on Friday.