Handre Pollard will play his first Absa Currie Cup game at inside centre when the Vodacom Blue Bulls face DHL Western Province in their semifinal showdown at Newlands on Saturday.
Pollard, who has burst onto the scene at flyhalf and is the Bok incumbent in the position, will fill the void for the team after they lost Burger Odendaal to a broken arm in last week’s game, meaning the Bulls will play two flyhalves in Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Pollard at 10 and 12 respectively for the game.
While this is a ploy normally used by New Zealand sides, the Bulls will be hoping the added dimension on attack that Pollard brings will also complement the team, especially with his prodigious boot and the flair he can bring to the backline. (It can work but is it in the best long term interest of the Boks and the player?)
Pollard did play at 12 for the SA under-20 side in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship but prefers to play at flyhalf.
Given that the Bulls are planning a more tactical approach, it will be interesting to see how the two pivots combine against a team that have already beaten them twice this season.
Coach Frans Ludeke said the team backs Pollard to succeed in the position.
“The injury opened that opportunity to play him at 12,” Ludeke said, “The idea is always that his first choice is 10 (Reassuring news as we all know how the bulle tend to ruin backline palyers) There was talk whether or not he would play there this weekend. We back him at 12 and hope he can bring something different to our side with his presence.
“Burger hurt after the game, missing out on an opportunity like this. He did a lot for us, he is a very good player but that’s life. It opened up a different option for us and a good option for us to go into this playoff with.
Ludeke said he saw their roles as more in terms of decision-making than just kicking, meaning the team needs to decide what is in front of them and decide on the correct course of attack.
“Definitely when you’re under pressure it helps a lot to release that pressure. With attacking kicks it also opens up opportunities for you.”
Ludeke has opted for his two in-form players rather than his normal rotation with Rudy Paige and Bongi Mbonambi getting the nod ahead of Piet van Zyl and Callie Visagie respectively.
Both players have been in sensational form and have played themselves into the side, after being Ludeke’s second choice at the start of the Currie Cup.
Werner Kruger comes back into the starting line-up for Springbok Marcel van der Merwe (bit odd that one), while Sampie Mastriet takes Pollard’s place on the bench.
Ludeke admitted travelling to Cape Town as the underdog.
"WP must be favourites and rightly so. They have played great rugby this season and deservedly are hosting a semifinal. We lost to them twice in this competition so are under no illusion on the magnitude of our challenge. With that said, we are certainly not travelling down south to go and surrender. We are going down there to win the match and get into the final. That was what this group has worked for very hard this season," Ludeke said.( Please Ludeke no blowhard chestbeating please! Leave that to the guppies like rooitwit!)
STARTINNG XV: Ulrich Beyers, Akona Ndungane*, William Small-Smith, Handrè Pollard*, Bjorn Basson*, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Rudy Paige, Jono Ross, Jacques du Plessis, Deon Stegmann* (capt), Grant Hattingh, Paul Willemse, Werner Kruger*, Bongo Mbonambi, Dean Greyling*.
Replacements: Callie Visagie, Marcel van der Merwe*, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Wiaan Liebenberg, Piet van Zyl*, Sampie Mastriet, Jesse Kriel.
