Bulls shed light on injured Bok

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As Jake White helps utility forward Cobus Wiese boost his Test prospects, the Vodacom Bulls boss downplays the likelihood of Ruan Nortje playing again before the new year.

Nortje, who made a strong statement in the Springbok second row this season, returned home from South Africa's November tour to the UK after he was injured at training. The Bulls co-captain was excluded from the current tour squad to Ireland and England.

Speaking to the media on Friday, White addressed the prospects of the six-Test Nortje featuring against the Northampton Saints and Sharks on 14 and 21 December, respectively.

"He's got a hamstring injury, and it's one of those things when people ask how long does a hamstring injury take [to recover from], it just depends on time," he said. "At this point in time he's not available for this tour.

"When we get back we've got Northampton and the Sharks but it's a long, long season and rushing him into a game when he could sit out again for another couple of weeks would be silly of us.

"At this point in time the only update I can give is he's got a hamstring injury, it's high up on his leg, and he is doing rehab in the pool and rehab at the Bulls to see how quickly he can get back on the field.

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"But I won’t be rushing him back just for a game because as I said, there's so much more rugby to be played in the new year. In all likelihood he'll probably be back on the field when we get back after Christmas."

Meanwhile, Wiese's ability to play lock and in the back row has added valuable depth to the Herd, and the seasoned campaigner will start at blindside flanker against Connacht in Galway on Saturday.

The 26-year-old has made an instant impact since joining the Bulls from Sale Sharks this season, and dreams of following in the footsteps of older brother, Bok world champion Jasper.

"If he can play seven and he can play lock, it just helps us and it helps him – we all have aspirations for him to make the national set-up," White said.

"A lot of the international locks who are playing now, especially in the Springbok set-up – whether it's Franco Mostert, Pieter-Steph du Toit, or Ben-Jason Dixon who was picked [for the time] this year – it seems to be that if you can play in more than one position it counts in your favour.

"[Wiese’s] lost 10kgs the last three weeks, worked really hard on his fitness… and he has played flank in the Premiership for Sale. I'm keen to see how he goes this week."

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

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