The Bulls’ handsome 47-7 defeat of the Dragons on Friday night came at an injury cost — wing Springbok Canan Moodie is likely to miss the Bulls’ match this week against the Scarlets.
Moodie strained a hamstring and was taken off at half-time.
“We are concerned about Canan,” Bulls coach Johan Ackermann told a media conference on Saturday. “He felt his hamstring just before half-time, and with all the injuries at wing, we didn’t want to risk him further.
“We weren’t confident he could continue. You don’t want to aggravate it and make it worse, so we chose not to risk it.”
The Bulls will wrap Moodie up in cotton wool because they are thin in the wing position — already injured are Stravino Jacobs, Sebastian de Klerk, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Cheswill Jooste.
“We’ve suddenly been tested at wing,” Ackermann said. “It started with Stravino and Sebastian being out, then we lost Kurt-Lee and Cheswill for this weekend, and then Canan felt his hamstring.
“He is our main concern this week the main concern. There are bumps and bruises, but nothing else we’re overly worried about.
“Hopefully Cheswill and Kurt-Lee have responded well to treatment, and we can get at least those two back to strengthen our outside backs.”
The Bulls enjoyed a commanding second half to rout the Dragons and pick up five invaluable URC log points, but Ackermann was not pleased with the overall performance.
“The scoreline doesn’t really reflect the true match,” he said. “We had to grind and fight hard.
“We couldn’t put them away in the first half. They defended well and kept us out, and we made hard work of it.
“There was a feeling at half-time that it would take a grind and that we just needed more patience.”
The Bulls forwards took over, with captain Marcell Coetzee, Marco van Staden, and Ruan Nortje in the vanguard.
“Marcell has been outstanding for us over the last few weeks, not just on the field but off it as well,” Ackermann said.
“The way he’s leading, training, challenging, and encouraging the guys – he was tremendous.
“When your back is against the wall, you need your leaders to step up, and he led by example, and he has done this.”
“Credit also to Marco – he’s an absolute team man. He’ll play wherever we pick him. He understands his role as a hybrid who can play hooker and in the back row.
“We felt it worked well to use him there, and he showed his value. It’s great to have that option.”
