Mitchell fuming, but has no choice
INJURIES: BATTERED BULLS VERY THIN IN RESOURCES
Nonkontwana and Prinsloo the latest to go on treatment table.
Most people would expect coach John Mitchell to be wielding the selection axe today as a consequence of the Blue Bulls’ shattering result against a firedup Pumas last weekend, but the director of rugby is constrained by the resources at his disposal, which have been further diluted by two injury concerns in the face of their physical hammering in Nelspruit.
Lock Abongile Nonkontwana and flank Boom Prinsloo both came out of the game with bad injuries and will not feature today when the team to play Griquas in Pretoria on Friday night is announced.
Nonkontwana fractured his hand and so will be out of action for four to six weeks, while Prinsloo is suspected to have torn a muscle in his hip as a result of a hard hit he took, and so will be unavailable for at least the next two weeks.
The return of Shaun Adendorff from a knee niggle makes him the obvious choice to replace Prinsloo as the No 6 flank, while Clyde Davids, previously considered a loose forward at Loftus Versfeld, is the sort of mobile lock Mitchell is looking for and he should be promoted off the bench to replace Nonkontwana.
The only official response from the Bulls to their disgraceful 51-15 loss at the hands of the Pumas has been a tight-lipped statement by Mitchell.
“The performance was not our best, conceding five tries through not defending the maul and three yellow cards, but we are going through a change in mentality and approach in which the athletes will take time to adapt to be on the same page. Player habits and ownership is still very much in an education and mentoring process,” Mitchell told The Citizen.
“But we obviously recognise our current limitations and have a vision and strategic plan in place that we are focused on. We also have a responsibility to develop the depth of the club in the Currie Cup and manage the health of our top athletes otherwise we end up compromising our plans for Super Rugby.”