Gqoboka recovering well
Achilles injury on mend, with hopes of being ready in two weeks
Springbok and Bulls prop Lizo Gqoboka says he is about two weeks away from full recovery from an achilles injury that saw him miss his team’s impressive Super Fan win over the Sharks last weekend.
The injury also saw him miss out on possibly being selected for the Green vs Gold squads for the Springbok Showdown exhibition match at Newlands Stadium on Saturday.
“I need at least two more weeks to full recovery‚” he said.
“It was an Achilles injury but it was not that serious. I am recovering well. I am excited to be back on the training field and at least running and training with the team and I hope to be 100% fit in a week or two.”
Though he was not part of the action at the weekend when the Bulls defeated the Sharks 49-28 at Loftus‚ Gqoboka was impressed by how his teammates accounted for themselves.
“They played so well‚ followed instructions and went through the details to a tee and it was really exciting to see them expressing themselves without fear.
“I couldn’t believe it was the first game after six months without playing competitive rugby. I am really excited and hoping to be back soon and contribute to what I am hoping will be a great season.”
The win over the Sharks by the Bulls was the first outing for Jake White as director of rugby at Loftus and Gqoboka said the former Springboks coach has buy-in from all the players.
“If you look at Jake White’s history and how his teams play‚ they are always strong on the set pieces. They have a nice balance between that‚ being able to play wide‚ and being creative. Hes got an amazing structure and he s got buy-in from us.
“He gives us freedom to express ourselves, but within a structure, and it’s really great to work with a coach with that amount of experience.
“He has coached all over the world and we are fortunate to have him in the system‚” he said, adding competition for places is fierce.
“Competition is good for everyone‚ it keeps everyone on their toes because you know that the next guy is just as good. The good thing about us is that there are no egos in our team‚ we just work hard and try not to focus on things that we can’t control. Jake makes the decision of who plays and who doesn’t play‚ so we just make sure we work hard.”