Bulldogs feel the heat after injury setback
THE Border Bulldogs were dealt an injury blow yesterday, ahead of their massive SuperSport Rugby Challenge match against the unbeaten defending champion Western Province team in Cape Town this coming weekend.
Bulldogs coach Tiger Mangeni confirmed that influential backline player Lelethu Gcilitshane has been ruled out of action for the foreseeable future.
Gcilitshane, who predominantly plays on the left wing and won the prospect of the year award after superb debut season last year, is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after tearing ligaments in his ankle during this past Friday’s win over the Boland Cavaliers.
It was early in the first half when on attack Gcilitshane was tackled and did not get back up after the ruck and after receiving attention from the medics was stretchered off the field in clear pain.
“Gcilitshane is out, I think he may have torn ligaments, I am not sure how long he will be out for, but definitely for the rest of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge,” said Mangweni.
It is expected that he may possibly be able to return to training in August, which would only make him available for the Currie Cup First Division competition.
Another potential blow could see the Bulldogs lose experienced fullback Sonwabiso Mqalo for the crunch Western Province match.
Mqalo was substituted in the second half of the Cavaliers game after suffering a muscle strain after a tough tackle saw him land awkwardly on his right shoulder.
“Mqalo had to go for X-rays and we don’t know the extent of his injury yet, so we will be monitoring him over the week and will only make a decision on his availability just before we leave for Cape Town on Thursday,” said Mangweni.
“Losing these two players would be a big blow for us, but we have to soldier on.
“We have players who are returning from injury such as Mbembe Payi and Siyasanga Ncanywa who will be back in the mix, so we do have depth in the squad and we will look at these players and decide the way forward from there.”
The Western Province match is an important one for the Bulldogs as their surprise bonus point win over the Cavaliers effectively brought them back into the running for a place in the knockouts, so they will be desperate to come away from the game with points.
The Cavaliers still remain favourites in second place on the South section log, but another loss for them and the Bulldogs and South Western District Eagles will be right on their tail going into the final games.
Following this weekend’s match the Bulldogs will return to East London to take on the Eagles next weekend.
They will then close out the pool stage with a SuperSport Rugby Challenge Festival on June 16 at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane.
Last year’s festival was extremely well supported with close to 15 000 fans turning out for the thrilling day of rugby and we should be in for more of the same this year.