Sweet and sour for Bulls as Cameron Hanekom returns but Sebastian de Klerk's prognosis looks bleak

It’s been a tough period for Cameron Hanekom, watching his teammates play week in and week out for about nine months, but the Bulls are confident their star loose forward is ready to take up the torch in his comeback match on Friday evening.

The Springbok will make a welcome return off the replacements bench against Cardiff at Loftus Versfeld (7pm kick-off) as the Bulls look to get back to winning ways in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The Pretoria side suffered a 32-19 loss against the Stormers last weekend and will be eager to set the record straight against their Welsh visitors.

Apart from Hanekom’s return, head coach Johan Ackermann has made a host of changes to the side from last week, opting to freshen up the pack and bring in some game-breakers in the backline. Stedman Gans will take his place at inside centre, while winger Cheswill Jooste gets a run on the right wing in place of the injured Sebastian de Klerk.

Ackermann confirmed that De Klerk will undergo foot surgery after picking up a Lisfranc injury against the Stormers. He is expected to be out for up to six months.

“We will only see him at the end of the year, but he is a man of faith. Hopefully, we will see him on the field sooner. He is disappointed for various reasons; there are no words that can comfort him.

“He can’t play for us, for one, and secondly, he had a first taste of Springbok rugby at the alignment camp. And I know the Springboks coaches speak very highly of him. It is a disappointment. People will be there to support and pray for him.

“We can only trust that there is a purpose and that he will be back stronger. There is enough time for him to come back, play well and who knows, he can still go to the World Cup (in 2027), nothing is impossible.

“At the moment, he just needs the support of everyone.”

According to Ackermann, they believe Hanekom will be ready for the challenge that lies ahead. The Bulls have done plenty to prepare him for his first game back since last year, and the coach is confident about his fitness.

Cardiff are currently fifth on the URC table and will be a tough side to contend with.

“He’s done all the off-field work, like testing, to ensure he is 100%, and he is looking good in training. The biggest thing is that there will always be a bit of nervousness when you come back from an injury in terms of how sharp you are and how well you will play.

“But any player that has played at a high level before has got the talent. He must just enjoy himself. That will be the message, to express himself and not be afraid of the mistakes he will make. He must just go out and play. When he comes on, he will only focus on his role as No 8; we don’t want him to think about too many things. We also can’t play him for more than a certain number of minutes.”

Ackermann added that it was a short turnaround from the Stormers game and they had to look at freshening up some players. That is why there are several changes to the starting XV and on the bench.

The Bulls have a tougher match against Munster next week, and the rotation has been done with that in mind.

The combination of Gans and outside centre Canan Moodie will be one to watch, while the reunion of scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who missed the Stormers clash, and flyhalf Handré Pollard could steer the Bulls’ attack.

In the pack, Cobus Wiese takes the No 4 lock jersey, while Francois Klopper gets a run at tighthead in place of Wilco Louw. Springbok Marco van Staden is set to provide impact from the bench, alongside Hanekom and lock Ruan Vermaak.

“We thought we could use a bit of new energy by freshening things up. It is something that the team needs. That is the one thing we felt we must do, especially looking at the locks. Wilco has some personal matters to sort out.

“Stedman trained really well and he was unlucky after the Lions game not to get selected. We feel he deserves to play in that position. The positions he (Gans) covers, we felt it’s important to have him there.”

Bulls

15 David Kriel, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Stedman Gans, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp;

Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Jeandré Rudolph, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Willie le Roux.