Cape Town – He has set the United Rugby Championship alight with his dazzling runs, but now Kurt-Lee Arendse is still in doubt for Saturday’s quarter-final against the Sharks.
The Bulls fullback has missed the last few matches with a broken thumb, which he sustained in the 46-29 victory over Benetton at Loftus Versfeld on April 23.
That saw Arendse on the sidelines for the 29-17 win against Glasgow Warriors on April 29, and the 38-31 bonus-point triumph over the Ospreys in Wales on May 20.
It was hoped that the 25-year-old would be ready to rumble for the quarter-finals at the latest, but that has not been confirmed as yet.
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IOL Sport understands that Arendse is “50-50” for Saturday’s derby against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld (1.45pm kickoff), and that a final call on his fitness will be made available later in the week.
Bulls coach Jake White will only name his match-23 on Friday, and will hope to have such a lethal attacking weapon such as Arendse back on the pitch against the Sharks.
His replacement, Canan Moodie, has improved with every outing since moving from right wing to No 15, but will face a serious test under the high ball from a Sharks side who like to use the boots of halfbacks Jaden Hendrikse and Curwin Bosch.
But if Arendse is not 100 percent ready to play on Saturday, it won’t be with risking him, as he will be even more valuable if the Bulls win and advance to the semi-finals – which is mostly likely to be against Leinster in Dublin, with the Irish giants taking on Glasgow in their quarter-final on Saturday.
Even if Moodie does line up at fullback, the Bulls won’t abandon their attacking approach against the Sharks.
“They (backs) rely a lot on us to get front-foot ball,” lock Walt Steenkamp said on Tuesday from Loftus Versfeld.
“In the Ospreys game, all the tries were scored by the backline players. So, it’s nice to see that once in a while and get the credit to them. We must just do what we need to do and get them the front-foot ball, so that they can play.
“It is finals rugby now, but you must stick to what’s worked. And if it worked for us, then we keep doing that.”