The Vodacom Bulls are set to welcome back several Springboks as they embark on a three-week URC tour sitting atop a tightly-packed log.
The Pretoria-based outfit produced a bruising, ill-tempered 39-31 win over Leinster at Loftus to maintain their early-season momentum, and denied the Irish giants a losing bonus point.
That result underlined the Bulls’ growing grit under Johan Ackermann despite being without a host of internationals through Bok call-ups and injury.
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Ackermann’s touring squad – which departs on Monday for matches against Ulster, Connacht and Glasgow – will be bolstered by returning Springboks from the Rugby Championship squad, though the head coach remains cautious about throwing all his big guns straight back into action.
Handré Pollard, who hasn’t featured for the Bulls since re-joining from the Leicester Tigers, looks set to slot in almost immediately. Props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw, both part of the Bomb Squad at Twickenham, are also expected to play against Ulster on Saturday.
Captain Ruan Nortje and winger Canan Moodie may be eased back after heavy workloads during the Rugby Championship, while Marco van Staden could return to action in the absence of the injured Marcell Coetzee.
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“The challenge,” Ackermann admitted, “is finding the balance between integrating them back into our systems and managing their workloads for the Boks. World Rugby’s 30-game cap makes it even more complicated.
“It’s a mixed bag because one, you’re excited, and it’s a privilege to work with that quality of players. But the team-building process starts all over again now. Luckily, most of them have been part of the setup before, so it’s more about reconnecting and re-establishing combinations.”
The coach added that plans were already in place to manage each player’s return after meeting with the Bok contingent following their New Zealand leg.
“We’ve got individual plans in place, but injuries have already forced one or two changes,” Ackermann explained. “Hopefully we’ll integrate them quickly. It’s probably the biggest challenge for Handré, just because he’s the newest addition, while the others have played with us before.”
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Ackermann said the returning stars would join the squad in Galway before final selections are made later in the week.
The Bulls will name their touring group on Monday.
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
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