It’s crunch-time in the Currie Cup, with only semi-finals and finals remaining but only one of the four semi-final sides, the Blue Bulls have a clean bill of health on their 22 squad players.
DHL Western Province have been dealt a double blow ahead of their semi-final against the Golden Lions at Coca-Cola Park with Andries Bekker and Tiaan Liebenberg injured and ruled out of the weekend’s clash.
Andries Bekkerhas injured a toe on his right foot whereas Tiaan Liebenberg has sustained a back injury. Both players will consult specialists this week to determine the exact extent of the damage.
At the Golden Lions, Lionel Mapoe injured himself in the closing minutes of the Blue Bulls match on Saturday and Deon van Rensburg is the other doubtful player to make the semi-final. The exact nature and extent of these 2 injuries are yet unknown.
At the Sharks, Odwa Ndungane is out with an ankle injury and won’t face his twin brother Akona when the Sharks and Blue Bulls do battle in Durban on Saturday.
Six Blue Bulls players have bumps and bruises but team doctor org Strauss has indicated that the complete squad will be available and ready to roll on the weekend. The six players are: Louis Fouchè (AC joint), Dewald Potgieter (AC joint), Jacques Potgieter (Stomach muscle strain), Francois Hougaard (left foot contusion), Akona Ndungane (pectoral muscle) and Flip van der Merwe (recovering from a bruised shoulder).
Allister Coetzee, Western Province coach has also called up Bolla Conradie to the squad as cover for scrumhalf, seeing as the Western Province Under 21 team also has to compete in a final of their own on the weekend.
The SAME players get injured over and over and over again.
Coenie, Mapoe, Van Rensburg, Langbek….. where have we seen this before….
If you get the services of a rugby player only half of the time whilst he is employed, due to injury, he ends up costing you much more than double his salary effectively…. there is still the medical bills PLUS additional staff who have to attend to his diagnoses, treatment and rehabilitation….
Additionally don’t forget the destabilizing effect he has on the side with him being in and out of the squad, which could do nothing else but cause discontinuity in playing patterns.
So, notwithstanding that a player might have star qualities or greater potential… that injury prone player or those injury prone players become liabilities, ultimately weighing a team down.
The only question is just how long you manage a player before he becomes that LIABILITY, before his nett worth becomes less than his nett cost to the side…
Comment in No 2 sounds clinical and heartless, but it’s true nevertheless.
Every side has these Sick Notes though….
A quick glance at the perrenial “Sick Notes” of the different big provinces… feel welcome to add.
WP / Stormers: Tiaan Liebenberg, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Rynhardt Elstadt, Nick Koster, Gio Aplon
Blue Bulls / Bulls: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Deon Stegmann, Johan Sadie
Free State Cheetahs / Cheetahs: Coenie Oosthuizen, most of their locks, all their looseforwards including Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow, Johan Goosen
Sharks: Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel, Patrick Lambie, Francois Steyn, JP Pietersen, Odwa Ndungane
Golden Lions / Lions: CJ van der Linde, Bandise Maku, a number of locks, always one or 2 scrumhalves down, Waylon Murray, Lionel Mapoe, Jaco Taute
I’ve said before that Unions should write clauses into player contracts that if they’re out for longer than a specified period, then their contracts should automatically be extended by that period of time.
At the Lions both Maku and Rhodes were out injured for long periods of time, and as soon as they’re fit, they up and fukc off. In Rhodes’ case he’s even BREAKING his contract to go to the Stormers.
All it would take is for a Union to grow some balls and make the player sit and do nothing for a year, then maybe players will think twice about who carried them when they were incapable of earning their keep before jumping ship.
Maar nou ja. “Professional” sport I suppose.
I honestly thought I would get more reaction on the players who seem to be part of the Pee-Paw, Sick report variety….
7 @ grootblousmile:
Why? It’s true!
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