Any team will feel the absence of a superstar like Kurt-Lee Arendse, and that will be case for the Bulls for the rest of the United Rugby Championship league campaign and Champions Cup.
But utility back Devon Williams is hoping to minimise that impact, and in fact make a difference on his own accord, starting with Saturday’s URC clash against Connacht in Galway (kick-off 7.30pm).
Arendse signed off from South African rugby until May next year following the Boks’ 45-12 win over Wales in Cardiff last weekend, and he will now join Japanese club Sagamihara Dynaboars before returning to the Bulls for the playoff rounds.
Williams, though, has the ability to ignite the Pretoria side’s attack in similar ways to Arendse, and has the added advantage of a big left kicking boot. The 32-year-old – who hails from Pniel near Stellenbosch and first made his name at Western Province, the Stormers and Pumas – may be called upon by Bulls boss Jake White to take over Arendse’s No 11 jersey against Connacht.
That could result in an explosive back-three of Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie and Williams, who will all be eager to command the high ball and take on the Connacht defence through their kicking game and ball-in-hand style.
The in-form Bulls – who won their last encounter 17-15 against Benetton in Treviso on October 25 – are the highest-placed SA side in third with 19 points from five matches, behind Leinster (29) and Glasgow (23), who have both played six games.
“Kurt-Lee is a special player. He’s won World Cups, so he will leave a big hole. So, the rest of the back three must step up and try to fill that hole, and it gives an opportunity for a younger player to step up,” Williams said from Galway in Ireland yesterday.
“We don’t know what the weather is going to be like. We must be able to adapt, and how we can use my left foot.
“When you play against the wind, big (kicks) becomes more difficult, and it becomes more of a running game – a ball-in-hand game. With the wind, you want to get the pack in front of you.
“We had a nice break, and it was a little bit of a mini-pre-season, so that sets us up for the next four weeks coming.
“We can adjust to the weather. We have a certain style that we want to play, but that style might lead to changes, especially with the weather here – four seasons in one. Galway is known for its rain and wind, so we must leave room for that as well.”
White was able to include most of his Bok players in the tour squad, and will box clever for the Connacht game as the big match of the trip up north is next week’s Champions Cup opener against Saracens in London.
Apart from Arendse, captain and lock Ruan Nortjé’s leg injury that forced him to withdraw from the Bok tour has kept him sidelined for the Bulls as well.
‼️TOURING SQUAD‼️
YOUR squad to face Connacht in the @Vodacom #URC clash this weekend & Saracens in the @ChampionsCup on the 7th of December 🏆🐂#ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/iy9rr4mWbY
But all of Le Roux, Moodie, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom, Marco van Staden, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp are part of the Bulls group for the Connacht and Saracens games.
Only the two Louws featured prominently for the Boks in the UK, so the rest of the Boks should be fresh enough to be part of the Connacht clash this weekend.
Another significant boost is the return of flyhalf Johan Goosen from a broken nose, with the other pivot being Boeta Chamberlain, although lock Reinhardt Ludwig is also out with injury.
Bulls squad
Forwards: Akker van der Merwe, Alulutho Tshakweni, Cameron Hanekom, Mpilo Gumede, Cobus Wiese, Deon Slabbert, Dylan Smith, Elrigh Louw, Francois Klopper, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jannes Kirsten, JF van Heerden, Johan Grobbelaar, Juann Else, Nama Xaba, Marcell Coetzee, Marco van Staden, Mornay Smith, Sebastian Lombard, Ruan Vermaak, Wilco Louw; Backs: Aphiwe Dyantyi, Boeta Chamberlain, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Devon Williams, Embrose Papier, Harold Vorster, Johan Goosen, Keagan Johannes, Sebastian de Klerk, Stedman Gans, Willie le Roux, Zak Burger.