Just In: The Vodacom Bulls have lost the services of a key Springbok as they look to get back to winning ways in their second tour match againstConnacht in Galway

The Vodacom Bulls have lost the services of a key Springbok as they look to get back to winning ways in their second tour match againstConnacht in Galway.

TheBulls are still smarting from last week’s heavy loss to Ulster in Belfast and are determined to set things straight, but they’ll have to do so without the hard-running ball-scavenger Marco van Staden.

‘Eskom’ misses Friday night’s showdown due to a light knee hematoma, but the injury is of such a nature that he would be available to play without any discomfort again next week.

But coach Johan Ackermann says at this stage it’s unlikely that he’ll feature again until after his national commitments.

He took a knock to the knee [in the loss to Ulster] which turned out to be a ‘lammie’, but it looks like he’ll be back again next week should we need him to play. But we’ve said from the beginning that he’d be returning to the Springboks after two weeks with us.

Marcell [Coetzee] has recovered from his concussion, so he’ll join us next week and we’ll have him available.”

The Bulls boss says the changes weren’t a direct result of the Belfast loss, but rather a horses-for-courses type of approach for the kind of game the Bulls want to play against Connacht.

“We looked at how we wanted to play against Connacht and which players we have who best fit the plan. JJ is a really good lineout jumper, but we felt that Juandre and Nama are known for their hard work on the ground and their overall work ethic. JJ has the ability to jump in the lineouts and he’s also very quick.

“So if Marco was available, you wouldn’t have the option of having all three on the park at the same time.”