The Springboks in a huddle after completing a training session. Photo: SA Rugby website.
Could another Springbok be ruled out of World Cup with injury?
The Springbok team are once again anxiously awaiting news on the injury front after an unfortunate incident just before Sunday’s pool game.
The Springboks in a huddle after completing a training session. Photo: SA Rugby website.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber praised his team’s intensity on attack and effort on defence on Sunday as they registered an emphatic 76-0 victory against Romania in their second Rugby World Cup pool match.
However, Vincent Koch unfortunately suffered an injury in the warm-up, which saw him being withdrawn from the match-day squad and Frans Malherbe being drafted onto the replacements’ bench, with Trevor Nyakane starting at tighthead.
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The team is now awaiting the result of the injury scans, but there will be real fears that a knee injury could force the Springbok prop out of the World Cup.
Nienaber said: “He hobbled off in the warm-up and we think it’s his knee. But I have no idea how bad it is. The doctor will assess the injuries tonight and we’ll have a better idea later.”
The Springboks will travel to Paris on Monday for their third round Pool B match against Ireland on Saturday.
If Koch is ruled out, it will be interesting to see whether the Springboks would bring a specialist prop, or possibly consider a left-field move such as recalling Lukhanyo Am.
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The Springbok coaches confirmed the call-up of Handre Pollard on Sunday
Meanwhile, Handre Pollard will join the national team in Paris on Monday after being called into the squad to fill the vacancy created by hooker Malcolm Marx, who was ruled out of the Rugby World Cup in France earlier this week due to a knee injury.
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The inclusion of Pollard, who returned to the field on Friday for English club Leicester after a calf injury ruled him out of contention for selection for the RWC squad, brings the full complement of players in the team back to 33.
Pollard, who was a member of the 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning team in Japan, spent some time in camp with the squad for their final two warm-up games against Wales and the All Blacks in August.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber explained the decision to call up Pollard rather than a forward: “We are confident with the cover we have at hooker with Bongi Mbonambi and Deon Fourie, and Marco van Staden has been slotting in the position since our alignment camps in February, so we opted to call up Handre, who has been in our system for years and who was a member of our team in 2019 when we won the World Cup.
“He’s been working hard to return to full fitness, and we are pleased that he now has some game time under his belt for his club, and this will allow him to slot back into the team.
“We’ll work closely with him in the next week to get him back up to speed and back into the full swing of things, and we have no doubt he’ll step up t
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