Ross trials at Saracens
Vodacom Bulls loose forward Jono Ross will be hoping the next fortnight goes well as he undergoes a trial at English club Saracens.
The hastily-arranged offer will see Ross trial at the club – which has strong ties through the Bulls financial partner SAIL – for the next two weeks in the hope of scoring a contract there.
Ross, who captained the victorious Varsity Cup champion side UP-TUKS and also the Vodacom Cup Blue Bulls side was only told of the offer on the weekend and had to decide within hours if he was going to take up the challenge.
With a plethora of loose forwards currently at the Bulls and little prospect of Ross being able to break into the Currie Cup or Super Rugby side this year, it was decided that he would be better served by gaining some game time at Saracens.
“We thought it would be best for Jonno, as he had the opportunity and we didn’t want to stand in his way,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke told SuperSport.
With the Bulls enjoying the likes of Deon Stegmann, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Jacques Potgieter, Jean Cook, CJ Stander, Shaun Adendorff and Wian Liebenberg on their books, the former St Stithians and SA under-20 flanker would have struggled to do more than hold tackling bags for the rest of the year.
Ross is the third loose forward – after CJ Stander’s contract with Munster and Daniel Adongo’s move to Counties-Manakau to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
His contract is up for review at the end of October and it makes sense for the Bulls to allow him the opportunity to prove himself at Saracens.
