Springboks get their Pollard wish … with a bit of help

Three days after stating he won’t pick Handre Pollard for this weekend’s Currie Cup action, Blue Bulls director of rugby John Mitchell was essentially forced to.

To be fair, it was only because young star Manie Libbok, who’s impressed with his attacking skills to date, was a late withdrawal on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s trip to meet the Sharks.

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“He’s gone to hospital with appendicitis. It was basically only confirmed to us a half an hour (before the media conference) ago,” said Mitchell.

“It was a struggle for him already and it’s now obviously worse. The young man needs to gain some weight already, he can’t afford appendicitis now!”

Springboks management had made Pollard available during the national team’s off-week in the hope that he’d get some game-time.

Mitchell didn’t want to disrupt his side’s momentum by making an exception for the 23-year-old.

But the former All Blacks coach was gracious enough to do so when the gap opened unexpectedly, even though it’s on the bench.

“It’s good to have Handre’s experience back,” said Mitchell.

“He’s getting used to the way we train now as well. To be honest, he’s looking even better than when he was with us two days before the tour to Australasia.”

However, the Bulls mentor warns that it would still be unreasonable to expect Pollard to deliver fireworks.

“As good as Handre is, it’s always difficult for a new player coming back in,” said Mitchell.

“It’s always difficult to get back rhythm. It’s all about timing and getting used to your teammates. That’s the great thing about this game. That said, you’d probably expect your world-class players like Handre to adapt a bit quicker.”