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Handre Pollard makes shock return to Bulls side to face Highlanders

By Online Editors
Handre Pollard. (Photo by Johan Rynners/Gallo Images)

Handre Pollard has made a shock return to the Bulls side to face the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday.

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The Springboks first-five was originally sent back to South Africa, alongside international and Super Rugby teammate Duane Vermuelen, to nurse a calf injury following his side’s 22-10 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra two weeks ago, which meant he missed his side’s 22-all draw with the Blues in Auckland last week.

However, with a play-offs spot on the line in this week’s clash, head coach Pote Human has had a change of heart, and has re-called his captain back into the starting side.

The Highlanders would have been hopeful of facing a depleted Bulls outfit that would have been missing Pollard, Vermuelen and electric winger Rosko Specman, who came off injured against the Blues.

The latter two remain absent from the side, but Aaron Mauger’s men will now have to contend with 39-test Pollard, who will steer the ship in place of last week’s incumbent Mannie Libbok.

Whether Pollard has fully recovered from his calf injury remains unclear, but what is certain is that the 25-year-old’s re-call into the squad indicates the pressure the Pretoria club is facing with getting back into the Super Rugby post-season for the first time since 2013.

Currently ranked seventh overall and third on the South African conference with 34 points, a win in Dunedin will put them in good stead for qualification into the quarter-finals ahead of their final regular season fixture against the Lions next week.

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Pollard is one of five changes in the Bulls’ starting lineup from last week’s stalemate at Eden Park.

Injury has cut Paul Schoeman’s tour of Australasia short, meaning Marco van Staden will move to No. 8, freeing up the No. 6 jersey for Ruan Steenkamp, whose place on the bench is filled by Johan Grobbelaar.

The elevation of Embrose Papier from the reserves into the starting side for Ivan van Zyl at halfback rounds out a completely new halves pairing from last week, while Johnny Kotze shifts from the midfield onto the wing in place of the injured Specman, with Dylan Sage filling the void at centre.

At fullback, five-test Springbok Warrick Gelant is replaced by Namibian international Divan Russouw, whose spot on the bench is covered by JT Jackson.

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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