Johannesburg — Henco van Wyk is up and running again but according to Fidelity ADT Lions coach Mzwakhe Nkosi it would be irresponsible to play the centre in the coming weeks in the Currie Cup.
Besides, between the quartet of the form-finding Manuel Rass, the irrepressible youth of Tyler Bocks, the eagerness of Rynhardt Jonker and the possible, imminent return of Marius Louw to the side, Nkosi and Co should be confident that they have a combination of midfield pairings that can carry them through the remainder of the regular season and perhaps also into the play-offs.
Van Wyk injured his knee in early February while playing in the United Rugby Championship (URC). It required surgery to his meniscus, scuttling the rest of his season. Four months later, Nkosi admitted on Wednesday that the 22-year-old could play in the Currie Cup, but that it was not something his management team was considering.
“Look,” said Nkosi, “he is able to participate but it would be foolish of us to pick him.
“I think he will be ready closer to the play-offs,” the coach added, while continuing: “A guy like Manny (Rass) is going well and it is also an opportunity for us to give one or two youngsters gametime.
“We gave (Bocks) a shot last week for him to play against a 100-capper like Robert Ebersohn. To give Henco a run now for three, four games post a four-month long injury, I think that would be foolish from us.
“I certainly won’t pick him unless I get a mandate from the top. Gianni Lombard should be back this weekend. Jordan Hendrikse remains out for the season.”
The Lions, currently fifth in the Cup standings, face a desperate Bulls side at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday (kick-off 3pm). It is expected that both sides will select their strongest matchday 23s available for the clash.
The Bulls find themselves beneath their Joburg neighbours on 22 points, two points and two places adrift of the Lions, and are on a mission to salvage an underwhelming season. They could, however, find a Lions team jam-packed with the same players that beat them 29-25 at Loftus Versveld at the beginning of March in the URC.
Said Nkosi: “From this week forward, we also have now the full complement of our first-choice players – the Marius Louws, the PJ Bothas, the Ruan Venters and the like.
“Us, the Bulls, and the Western Province don’t have a choice in the next four weeks … we fancy ourselves (to make the play-offs) but it is a straight shoot-out between all those guys,” he concluded.
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