Springbok coach Peter de Villiers believes the management of Fourie du Preez and Andries Bekker by the Bulls and Stormers respectively has contributed to the situation where both are currently unavailable because of injury. Bekker missed the weekend’s Test against Wales because of a lower back injury and is also not available for Saturday’s Test against France at Newlands, while Du Preez will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday that will rule him out of rugby for six months.

“I’m not very happy with the way in which certain players were played through the Super 14 with injuries,” De Villiers said on Monday. “If I’m ever so self-centred that I let a player play one game too many for the sake of winning the game, I hope I’m called to order.

“We really needed Fourie for this week’s Test because it’s an important one for us. One week of his life can impact on the rest of his career. “The Super 14 is very tough and there are players that play with injuries that require painkillers. That is a worry for me.”

Bekker played in every game of the Stormers’ campaign and De Villiers confirmed that the player’s personal circumstances had nothing to do with his early return from Wales.

Team doctor Craig Roberts said that Bekker’s back injury had been exacerbated by the flight overseas. “There is a lot of spasm and discomfort in his lower back and he could not train with us early last week. That is why we sent him home. It does not usually take much more than a week to recover from that kind of injury,” said Roberts.

Alistair Hargreaves was named as Victor Matfield’s understudy in Bekker’s absence.

Defending Ricky

As far as the scrumhalf position is concerned, De Villiers has to choose between Ricky Januarie and Ruan Pienaar.

The coach was impressed with Januarie’s form against Wales. “Ricky was named man of the match by the Welsh and in our selectors’ meeting he also got Peter Jooste and Ian McIntosh’s votes as man of the match,” said De Villiers. “He made Juan de Jongh’s try with his delayed pass and also played Danie Rossouw into the gap in the build-up to Dewald Potgieter’s try. “Ricky’s 11 tackles were the second most in the game and he won turnover possession in front of our posts. Those are the facts.”

Article courtesy from sport24 by Stepehn Nell