According to reports, The Blue Bulls are planning to ‘rest’ up to 13 of their first string side for the clash against the Stormers this weekend.
Already my South African friends have suggested on Twitter that this is just logical player rotation with a guaranteed home semi and final (if they make it) coming up.
But is it?
The Bulls have already moved their home from Loftus Versfield to Orlando Stadium in Soweto to accomodate the Soccer World Cup, and now they seem intent on throwing away their travel advantage as well. If the likely scenario plays out and the Stormers go through, this is the only case in which the Bulls final opponents will avoid travelling across the globe to play them.
Surely the Stormers on form are the biggest threat to the Bulls come the expected final. Gifting them a win will boost the momentum and confidence of the Capetown side. Finally, from my very limited understanding of South Africa, I’d expect the Stormers will find more support in Soweto than the Pretorians.
On top of that, can Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Morne Steyn, Zane Kirchner, Francois Hougaard, Gurthro Steenkamp, Gary Botha, Werner Kruger, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Wynand Olivier and Pierre Spies really be on the verge of injury?
All season we’ve been talking about how this is going to be a cracking and competitve Super 14 because it’ll come down to this and one or two other matches in the final round. Apparently not if Hansie has anything to do with it.
Parts of this article were written by Gagger, other parts by Moses
