Spies saw his World Cup dream shattered when he was ruled out of the champion South African squad due to a pulmonary embolism in August.

Days before they were to leave for the tournament, he coughed up blood at a Springboks practice and tests revealed blood clots on his lungs.

The exact nature of his illness was never determined but he finally stopped taking blood-thinning medication at the end of February.

The defending champion Bulls have lost both their matches on tour, going down 8-40 to the Reds and 27-43 at the hands of the Chiefs in Rotorua on Saturday. They have slumped to 11th place.