Cape Town - Despite losing star fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse, Bulls coach Jake White is confident that youngster Canan Moodie can handle the responsibility at No 15 in Friday night’s United Rugby Championship clash against Glasgow at Loftus Versfeld (7pm kickoff).
Arendse had an operation on a fractured thumb earlier this week, which will keep him off the field for anything between four and six weeks.
The former Blitzboks flyer sustained the knock in the 60th minute of last week’s 46-29 victory over Benetton, and now the race is on to get him fit for the final league game against the Ospreys in Wales on May 20.
But the more likely scenario that White will be hoping for is that Arendse returns for the quarter-final on the weekend of June 4 – if the Pretoria side make it that far.
“It’s a fracture. He’s had a little screw put in to heal the bone. Around that is a ligament, so it’s one of those… Now that they’ve mended the bone, it’s just a question of how long it will take the ligament to come back,” White said yesterday.
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“It’s not a major thing. A guy like Warrick (Gelant, who had a similar injury) has come back and played quicker than I suppose they anticipated, so hopefully we will be in the same boat and Kurt-Lee will be back sooner rather than later.
“Luckily the specialist could get him in, and he operated on Wednesday or Tuesday, so it was quick. So, hopefully that will be a way in which we can get him on the field quicker than usual.”
Up steps 19-year-old Moodie, who has been a stand-out operator at right wing this season. Hailing from Paarl, he is tall at 1.90m and weighs 90kg, so he has the physical attributes to handle the high ball.
But Glasgow, with British and Irish Lions scrumhalf Ali Price, will surely test the Bulls No 15 throughout. James Verity-Amm is a specialist fullback – while David Kriel is also in the squad – but will start at No 14 as White wants to see what Moodie can do.
“Canan’s been running at fullback a few times to learn the role as well, because the idea was that Kurt-Lee could be playing in the World Cup sevens (in September), and the reality was to find a replacement. So, Canan’s been running there as a back-up fullback, and he gets a chance there this weekend, and we will see how it goes,” White said.
“What has changed significantly is the way that we attack with a different kind of fullback. If you look at all the teams, generally the teams that have that kind of fullback (like Arendse) have worked quite well.
“That kind of fullback that can attack from the back is I suppose what the competition has shown us works. It’s not a case of conditions – it’s a case of how we are trying to balance our team, and at this point in time, Canan ticks that box. And with James and Madosh helping him as older, wiser guys who have been around a bit, he (Moodie) will get the learnings he needs.”
The other changes sees Morné Steyn and Zak Burger return as the halfbacks, while Arno Botha gets a start at blindside flank.
The Bulls must keep winning to stay in the playoff hunt, and White wants his team to stick to their attacking philosophy.
“We will play the same way. We’ve got two games left and we have to make sure we win both, and whatever happens around us happens. The difference between second and eighth is four points… we could be second on the log by the time we go to bed tomorrow night. That’s how close it is.”
Teams For Loftus Versfeld
Bulls: 15 Canan Moodie 14 James Verity-Amm 13 Lionel Mapoe 12 Cornal Hendricks 11 Madosh Tambwe 10 Morné Steyn 9 Zak Burger 8 Elrigh Louw 7 Arno Botha 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain) 5 Ruan Nortje 4 Walt Steenkamp 3 Mornay Smith 2 Johan Grobbelaar 1 Gerhard Steenkamp.
Bench: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 17 Simphiwe Matanzima 18 Dylan Smith 19 Janko Swanepoel 20 Cyle Brink 21 Embrose Papier 22 Chris Smith 23 Harold Vorster.
Glasgow: 15 Ollie Smith 14 Josh McKay 13 Sione Tuipulotu 12 Stafford McDowall 11 Cole Forbes 10 Duncan Weir 9 Ali Price 8 Jack Dempsey 7 Rory Darge 6 Ryan Wilson (captain) 5 Richie Gray 4 Rob Harley 3 Zander Fagerson 2 George Turner 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Bench: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Oli Kebble 18 Simon Berghan 19 Kiran McDonald 20 Thomas Gordon 21 Jamie Dobie 22 Ross Thompson 23 Sam Johnson.
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