Tightheads & Loose Balls

● Some writers had difficulty discerning what was Bull or bull coming out of Loftus this week.

In their weekly medical update no injuries were reported by the team doctor. Later the same day however news broke online of captain Lood de Jager’s trip to the infirmary for the rest of the season.

At the team announcement it was revealed that Eli Snyman had not trained the whole week and would be unavailable for selection along with Ruan Steenkamp.

● A sports website and the Lions got into a prickly WhatsApp tête-à-tête after the former broke the embargo for the Lions’ team announcement by two hours. Contrition escaped them when the Lions threatened to revoke their access to players for interviews. The big cheese at the site threatened to involve his contacts at the Lions’ main sponsors. Tightheads, meanwhile, will stock up on some popcorn. ● Lions coach Swys de Bruin was asked if hard words fell in the wake of their defeat to the Bulls.

“You can’t dwell too much in the past in our game. Saturday night you can’t sleep. Sunday morning you’ve got to be positive because you all have to face one another. The mistake I made earlier in my coaching career was to dwell too long on the past. It’s a killer.”

The alternative of course is for him to change congregation.

● In an interview newly re-elected Boland president Ivan Pekeur had scant regard for his opposition. “The victory was actually ridiculously easy,” boasted Pekeur. “There can only be one camp now — the Ivan Pekeur camp.”