SPRINGBOK and Golden Lions hooker Owen Nkumane has withdrawn from the Cats’ Winfield Super 12 squad after consulting with Cats coach Andre Markgraaff and Lions mentor Laurie Mains. Nkumane has instead elected to play for the Lions in the Vodacom Cup in a bid to improve his fitness and skills which, by his own admission, have waned since he toured the United Kingdom and Ireland with the Springboks at the end of 1998. He will spend two to three weeks in the Vodacom Cup during which he and Mains will work on improving individual aspects of his game. After this he is likely to be drafted into the Cats Super 12 squad.