As the Super Rugby season draws nearer, the teams will be trying to get their injury lists as short as possible, to go into Super Rugby with real war machines.

At the Bulls it was last weak feared and speculated that the Bulls would go into the Stormers warm-up with 3 key players not available. That fear is now eased with the news that only one player, Morné Mellet, won’t be ready to play on the weekend.

The Bulls also expressed their confidence in their all-round props after last year’s Super Rugby season saw them struggle in the scrums at times.

Injury Report:

Vodacom Bulls coach Frans Ludeke was handed a very short injury list this morning and will be able to pick anyone he chooses for Saturday’s warm-up match against DHL Stormers in Polokwane.

Morné Mellett is the only regular squad member not to be considered for the Limpopo clash as the prop is recovering from a back strain.

There was some concern last week about the fitness of Arno Botha (back), David Bulbring (shoulder) and Jono Ross (knee), but according to Vodacom Bulls team doctor Org Strauss, all hands are on deck this week.

“Arno, David and Jono will be able to take part in the full team session on Monday,” he confirmed. “At this stage it is just Morné, who will be rested for another two weeks. Marvin Orie (Vodacom Cup lock) will also be out for another month as he is recovering from a broken leg sustained in last year’s Varsity Cup final.”

Arno Botha said that he is keen to get back onto the field. He last played in June 2013, when he ruptured knee ligaments while playing only his second test match for the Springboks.

“Injuries are part of rugby and a temporary set-back you have to overcome. Look at players like Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers, who had to overcome serious injury. There are no guarantees in that regard,” Botha said. “The injury came at a bad time for me, but it also motivates me. I now know the feeling of being a Springbok and that is something I want to do again.”

Strong Bulls performances will help him to get back into the national squad.

“I need to up my work rate,” Botha says. “I love carrying the ball and to make tackles and also don’t mind doing the donkey work. I want to improve in all those areas.”

Leadership comes easy to the former Junior Springboks captain and he does not mind a leadership role in the squad.

“Pierre (Spies) and Steggies (Deon Stegmann) are very experienced and they also take a lot of leadership responsibility upon them. At the Bulls there is a very strong belief in the team and you can comfortably put your trust in the guy next to you.”

All-round props:

The Bulls scrum may have lost the ‘fear factor’ it once held for opposing teams, but coach Frans Ludeke is confident they will not be shunted around this season.

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Ludeke said, ahead of their pre-season Super Rugby outing against Stormers, at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday, said some of the law adjustments will also be of value.

“What is most pleasing – from a coaching, player and administrative point of view – is that good decisions were made that will improve the game,” Ludeke said about the decision to simplify the communication from referees to the teams at scrum time.

Added to that, the Bulls mentor said, is the fact that the right areas were addressed when they looked at their own shortcomings.

“This included the scrum,” he said, adding: “We required one or two adjustments, such as No 9 and his communication with the referee.”

Ludeke said the scrums remain a huge contest, but the decisions made by the referees are getting to a stage where everybody has confidence in it and it makes it an easier facet of the game.

He admitted that all teams would have focussed on the scrums in the off-season.

“Mistakes will be punished with penalties and then you can lose valuable territory,” the Bulls coach said.

“Last year in Super Rugby there were times we were under pressure in the scrums, so it was definitely an aspect we focussed on.

“We need to ensure we are technically more accurate.

“Obviously brute strength will have an impact, but it is more important to be technically more accurate.

“You have to focus on things like making sure the ball is put in on the ref’s call, put in straight and ensure you work as a unit.”

There were some critics who feel the Bulls’ props are not up to standard, but Ludeke feels there is more to playing at prop than just scrumming.

“You have to take it on the chin sometimes,” he said, when asked about the trouble experienced in 2013. “There were games where the opposition got the better result in the scrums, but we know what the challenges are and we have been working on those. We know some of our performances were not good enough, but that is what you work on in the pre-season – to ensure you can put your stamp on the game in those facets. We certainly back the players, because we feel they have the all-round game.”

“The scrum is an important facet for us, and a major focus point, to ensure we create a solid platform.”