The much maligned Olivier is back forthe bulle

Ex super sport

Bulls centre Wynand Olivier will make his return to the side for their Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Olivier has recovered from shoulder and hand operations and was on Wednesday named alongside Francois Venter in the midfield in the only change to the run-on side.

The Springbok centre is the most capped South African midfielder in Super Rugby and will extend his record with his 88th appearance for the Bulls.

Olivier replaces Johann Sadie, who has been ruled out for three weeks after injuring his shoulder in the team's 18-13 victory over the Sharks in Pretoria last week.

Vodacom Bulls team: Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, Wynand Olivier, Francois Venter, Bjorn Basson, Morne Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Pierre Spies (captain), Jacques Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Juandre Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Werner Kruger, Chiliboy Relepelle, Dean Greyling.

Replacements: Willie Wepener, Frik Kirsten, Wilhelm Steenkamp, CJ Stander, Jano Vermaak, Louis Fouche, JJ Engelbrecht.

Vermaak must be feeling pretty sick about things now. He was a pivotal part of the lions set up and now warms the bulle bench! !!!!!!!!!!!!

You mean the deservedly maligned Olivier.....slowest 12 in the Super15.

One of the best defensive centers around and by no means slow. Hence his longlevity in the bulle team that has enjoyed a modicum of success.

Olivier was the best 12 in super rugby in 2009, 2010 and came back strongly in 2011. Jean, the real slow plodder, hasn't had a good super campaign in at least six years, much like his test career.

Olivier gave away three tries against the Lions in the third test. Three flipping tries!!!!!!! He has had inumerable test starts and scored one try.......get real, this guy is slow, can't cover the outside gap and relies totally on a decent pass.

Not only can Jean not defend laterally very well, he can't defend head on either! You talk of the three tries that were supposedly conceded by Olivier.; how about Jean messing our 2008 season! Conceded a ridiculous try in the whitewash to New Zealand, that one broke us. Got run over by Mortlock for an all important score in the second Aussie test. Olivier I admit is not a great test 12, but Jean I know very well is no great shakes either.

Ja well by your own standard of test tries which is how you judge Fury.....Wynand at 1 try in 34 tests, is somewhat inferior to Jean with 19 tries in 72 tests.....many of them from hyper long range. Seems almost like a game, set and match moment.

I don't use tries to judge how good Fourie is, I use try stats to show his ability to threaten on attack. You stated not long ago that Jean was our most likely to score against SANZAR opponents; then I brought up the fact that Fourie was the top South African try scorer in the Tri-Nations. That's an example of how it's used. More specifically regarding Olivier; true, he hasn't crossed the line very often. However, most of those performances were in 2006 and 2007. Both years where he was rushed in to cover for injuries and shifted around often. I openly stated many times that I did not rate him at all back then, and said the same in 2008. 2009 he was not bad for the Boks. That third test was won not by our centres not performing, but by our pack being savaged. Our back three were brutally exposed. Throughout the rest of the year he was solid. My final conclusion is that he is no more than an Akona Ndungane type of player. Olivier's shortcomings however do not magically Jean's disappear. Jean has been utterly diabolical for many years. His last genuinely good test was in the 2006 encounter against New Zealand were he set up two tries and was all-round very good. Never a great distributor, he was though good for the Boks in 2005 and 2006. What has happened since then? Nothing. Hopelessly erratic and blunt play. Every aspect of his game is muddled and predictable. What a breath of fresh air Fransie was in 2007 RWC and in the same competition four years later! Not only is Jean the chief culprit holding back the Boks on attack, he is also very vulnerable head-on, which for an inside centre is unforgivable. Your theory of moving him to 13 to limit the damage is not without merit. In fact I agree with it many years ago when Jean still had some pace in those rattling bones of his. Now he is far too slow. A very good example ca be found in the tests of 2010 where he faced the All Blacks on the wing. Watching how he was very easily exposed laterally all but put to rest that theory. Game, set and match it is. Jean has been exposed, and I never stated once that Olivier was test material!

What did Fransie really do in the 07 final. He made a crucial kick, that's for sure, but I'm talking about his centre play. Only thing I can remember is his horrendous miss of Mathew Tait......which, except for two brilliant tackles, one by Matfield the other by Rossouw, might very well have lost us the test. I remember no breaks of consequence and some fairly ordinary defending. 

By contrast, perhaps because of his time in France, he was much more effective until injured in 2011....with a very good match against Wales.

I'd play Frans at 12 and Jean at 13 this year. I point out again, if Jean is so slow, why could Fury not stay on his shoulder for just one of the four or five breaks he made against Oz.

Jean is not slow. I recall  Jean playing a roving role on the wing for the Stormers last year where Mvovo could not ge tneat him. Being a big back he looks slower the the smaller types whose top speed is often actually nothing to shout about.  he is also closely marked as he is the firs tdanger man in the backline t oget the ball - given the half back lack of attacking prowress.

Olivier never really had a decent shot at test level. Never settled in with a regular partner etc. I agree with Card re the Lions debacle heck our pack got slaughtered even worse than the first team pack had been hammered. (I will always remember the second test win against the lions a the luckiest win in Bok history. The Lions went over our line some 4 times at least but somehow the ball was held up. The stats heavily favoured them as well re territory and possession. It is on this series win and the 2007 WC win against very moderate opposition that certain"reputations" were made).

Beeno coolly objective as ever.

Moz, one thing we cant question is Oliviers tackling for he is one of the best defenders around. As for your take on his speed, that like Josh Strauss is a load of rubbish. Please dont tell me you think Olivier is slower than the likes of Jean, Frans or Bosman. There is nothing wrong with Olivier's speed at all......its on par with most 12's out there.

As for Oliviers test record - if you put into perspective that he has only lived off scraps at test level and never had the opportunity to settle into the test arena, given Jean has always been the incumbent, then one can appreciate why he has only scored 1 try. Compare that to his S15 try scoring record where he has been the incumbent 12 for the Bulls for seasons and that tells the true tail of Olivier as a player. Most of his tests have been off the bench out of position at 13 or on the wing and very seldom more than 3 or 4 tests in a row.

Olivier is a far better player than you make him out to be as are many of the players you are so negative about, he has always been a good back-up to Jean and Frans for that matter. He like Jean have now probably past their best days and its time for Frans to take over at 12, with the likes of Sadie, Frans Venter, JP du Plessis, Jordaan and Jan Serfontien pushing in seasons to come.

Moz, Frans beat no less than three Englishmen in a single burst in that game. He had a rock solid final. Even the incredibly sour anti-South African Jeremy Guscott praised him as the star 12 that year! Have you also forgotten how Frans single-handedly ignited the team after he replaced the bland Jean against Samoa? We may very well have lost that test were it not for Frans. With his first touch he broke clean through and put JPP away for a crucial try. He was the life of our campaign in 2007 and we looks yet again muc better with him at 12 in 2011. You are going a very long way to support Jean here. Your provinicial bias is showing itself up and clouding your judgement.