The devil is in the detail of Mitchell’s ‘triple six’ plan to starve Rebels

PRETORIA: It is not often Bulls coach John Mitchell finds himself in a selection conundrum, but injuries and a lack of match fitness to certain players could force him to start with three openside flankers in his team to face the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (5.15pm kick-off).

The injury to Hanro Liebenberg, the return from the Commonwealth Games of Tim Agaba and return from injury of Nic de Jager has left the Bulls thin in the loose forwards but Mitchell has seemingly found an unconventional solution.

Mitchell is seriously toying with the idea of having three of his best poachers on the field at the same time in Roelof Smit, Marco van Staden and Shaun Addendorf.

While Smit and Van Staden worked in unison to help their side dismantle the Sharks last weekend in Durban, they are likely to be joined by Addendorf at number eight with the Bulls’ primary objective of starving and stealing possession from the Rebels.

With much thought behind the idea, Mitchell could be on to another winning plan that could bring the Bulls their third consecutive victory considering that the Rebels thrive off turnovers and bossing the breakdown.

“It will be a long shot for Tim and Nic. I’m looking at Shaun Addendorf so I might end up having three sixes in my mix. The other two are terriers together. Unless somebody has met the standards, they won’t make it,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is also not worried that he could lose a lineout option at the back as he believes that any of the three loose forwards can jump in the line-out if required.

“We are developing them as jumpers as well. Marco was jumping the other day with his big, wide body. If we have to go to our line-out we have Jason (Jenkins) as well. Unfortunately one has to make the best of the resources you have,” added Mitchell.

While Mitchell seems to have made the best of a tricky selection poser, he will have to be as mindful of the approaching threat of the Rebels, who have been the surprise package this year and will be seeking redemption after their shock loss to the Jaguares in Melbourne last weekend.

“They are a good side. They’ve done really well and they are second in the competition in terms of tries scored. They score a lot off turnover ball so you have to be mindful about holding onto your own ball otherwise you will be scrambling a fair bit on the day.

“Them and the Waratahs are within points of each other in terms of topping their conference. They probably see the weekend as a blip against the Jaguares and they obviously flogged the Sharks in Melbourne, so they will be mindful of that. They will want to get their tour off to a good start as well,” said Mitchell.