The Springboks in a huddle. Photo: SA Rugby website
BREAKING: Two Bok stars released due to injury
Two Bok stars have been released from the team camp after being ruled out of the Rugby Championship due to injury.
The Springboks in a huddle. Photo: SA Rugby website
It was confirmed on Tuesday that injuries and the desire to try a few new player combinations have led Bok head coach Jacques Nienaber to include eight new players in the starting team for this weekend’s rematch against Australia.
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Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph du Toit were all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Elton Jantjies injured his hand and was not available for selection this weekend.
Bongi Mbonambi is also still out injured due to a knee injury.
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It’s now been confirmed that Pollard and Am will both be out of action for several weeks, and are set to miss the rest of the Rugby Championship. The duo have now been released back to their clubs for further medical assessments.
Jantjies and Du Toit, meanwhile, will remain in camp, as they are expected to recover sufficiently from their injuries for the last two matches of the team’s campaign.
Nienaber said no replacements would be called up at this stage as they have sufficient cover within the squad. However, if the need arises, they will call on reinforcements.
“It’s always unfortunate to lose players in a squad, but this opens the door for other players to step in and showcase what they can do in those positions,” said Nienaber.
“We will now have 32 players in camp and with Elton expected to recover for the matches against Argentina and players such as Andre (Esterhuizen) and Jesse (Kriel) and Frans (Steyn) all being capable centres, we are well covered.
“Our plan from the outset of the season was to give most of the players in our expanded squad game time as we build towards the Rugby World Cup, and this involved rotating a few players, so we’ll use this opportunity to build our depth.”
Bok team to face Australia in Sydney:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 76 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 53 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 35 pts (7t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 30 caps, 105 pts (21t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 12 pts (1t, 2c, 1p)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 7 caps, 5 pts (1t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 15 caps, 0 pts
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 56 caps, 5pts (1t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 68 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 61 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 103 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 52 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 64 caps, 5 pts (1t)
Replacements:
16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0pts
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 12 caps, 0pts
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 57 caps, 5pts (1t)
19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 24 caps, 15 pts (3t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 21 caps, 40pts (8t)
22 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 75 caps, 150 pts (11t, 7c, 24p, 3d)
23 – Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) – 11 caps, 15 pts (3t)
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Springbok record against the Wallabies in Australia:
Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points against: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest score 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 points in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%.
Milestones:
- Malcolm Marx is the top try scorer in the squad against Australia with three tries in seven Test matches.
- Siya Kolisi has played 38 Tests as captain, making him the second most capped Springbok captain behind John Smit, who led the team in 83 Tests.
Miscellaneous:
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is
- There are 257 caps in the backline with 470 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 264
- The average caps per player in the backline are 36, the forwards 58, while the players on the bench average 33.
