Bulls Bring Back Jan Crashballfontein

Jan Serfontein makes a welcome return to the Vodacom Bulls side to face the DHL Stormers in their crucial Vodacom Super Rugby match at Newlands on Saturday.

The Springbok midfielder returns from a hip flexor injury that has seen him miss three games, and replaces the in-form Burger Odendaal for the game which could go a long way to determining the winner of the South African conference.

Odendaal starred in Serfontein’s absence, scoring two tries and showcasing his talents as the Bulls went to the top of the standings in the conference, but is suffering with a hamstring strain and returned to training on Thursday.

However, it was decided not to risk him, hence the decision to leave him out of the match day 23 as the Bulls made two changes to the side that beat the Cell C Sharks.

Coach Frans Ludeke said that Serfontein was chomping at the bit to get onto the field.

“Jan is sorted out with the injury and he can’t wait to come and add to the cause. He is very excited about what the team did in his absence so he’s looking forward to this weekend’s confidence.

“We always had good communication with both players and they always knew what would happen if there was an injury. With the injury it was always the case that Jan would come in and Burger is in the mix, he falls out of the 23 this week because of the injury.”

The other change sees Piet van Zyl being elevated from the bench to the starting line up in the place of Rudy Paige, who limped off against the Sharks with knee ligament troubles, and is set to be out for a few weeks.

Van Zyl got the nod primarily because Francois Hougaard is in exceptional form on the wing and a decision was taken not to move him back to his normal position behind the scrum, thereby keeping the impressive back three together.

But it does mean that Hougaard will need to cover halfback if there is an injury, with the Bulls choosing rather to bring in veteran winger Akona Ndungane into the mix for his first start of the season. Ironically Ndungane’s last Super Rugby game was on July 5 last year against the same Stormers.

“Piet has been playing well every time he came off the bench. It’s more about the position, and Hougi is fine to come in at any time if we have an injury,” Ludeke said, “And it is also good to have Akona back, he’s an old head and he has returned from injury and understands what the contest will be about.”

The Bulls decided to keep the same forward pack, with the likes of Lappies Labuschagne and Arno Botha providing that impetus off the bench in the second half.

“Continuity builds confidence in the side, especially in the lineouts and in the scrum, we can almost provide a good platform and players who are in sync there,” Ludeke explained.

The Bulls coach also said his side was confident heading to Cape Town and even though they lost their opening fixture at Loftus at the start of the season against the same Stormers side, they back themselves this time out.

“We had a lot of players coming off injury in that game, but we’re a much better side now,” Ludeke said.

“We definitely have a more all-round game and that is what you will need to play away and be successful. They came together on the tour and had two tough games in New Zealand which they lost, they then pulled together and won the last two games.

“They’re a very direct team and they work hard on the gain line. We know what to expect, it will be up front for a quality base and delivery, and then the battle of the gain line will be crucial for momentum for both teams. That is where your penalties lies and the linebreaks that lead to tries, it has always been like that. Big moments, and the team that keeps their discipline will be the team that gets the result.”

Vodacom Bulls (with Super caps): Jesse Kriel (10), Francois Hougaard (81), JJ Engelbrecht (58), Jan Serfontein (33), Bjorn Basson (80), Handré Pollard (20), Piet van Zyl (52), Pierre Spies (c, 112), Jacques du Plessis (24), Deon Stegmann (88), Grant Hattingh (43),Flip van der Merwe (74), Marcel van der Merwe (26), Adriaan Strauss (113), Dean Greyling (62). Replacements: Callie Visagie (44), Morné Mellett (33), Trevor Nyakane (51), Arno Botha (26), Lappies Labuschagne (33), Akona Ndungane (108), Tian Schoeman (3), Jurgen Visser (29).

Draad it hardly helped playing him out of position at 13 for the Boks....like Jean he was never going to work at 13.

Despite this fact he was still one of our best test backs last year and injury has stood in his way this year.

I hear people going on about Odendaal not crashing the ball.......well yes that was the case in his great first game this season, but resorted to the crashball in last weeks game.

Its the Bulls way and probably how 12's are instructed to play......the Bulls are all about physically imposing themselves.

You are wrong about Olivier, he was very good for the Bulls and lived in the shadow of Jean at test level, which is fair enough as Jean was better. Olivier after Jean is probably the best 12 we have seen in SA since readmission, probably alongside Pieter Muller.......he was certainly better than de Wet Barry.

At test level, he always lived off scraps playing off the bench, or out of position at 13 or on the wing......his time at 12 was limited and never at a stretch.

Olivier was a damn fine 12, but sadly for him Jean was better and the best we have had.