Dr Craig Roberts

Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts was beaming, and for good reason, when he addressed his weekly injury report media conference in Umhlanga Rocks on Monday.

Although a clutch of players are still out injured and there are a few that are unlikely to play before the start of the Rugby World Cup, the experienced duo of skipper Jean de Villiers and scrumhalf Fourie du Preez were joined by the equally influential Willem Alberts in getting safely through what Roberts described as “a great training session” on Monday morning.

“As you know, Jean is a player who took a back seat a bit so that he could get some game time, and the news is good on that front as he looked good in training and should be available for selection for this week’s game,” said Roberts.

“It was also a good work-out for Fourie du Preez. We will obviously monitor how he responds to the training, as we will with Jean, before making a final decision, but he is potentially ready to play against the Pumas this week.

“Willem is also looking good. We’ve been building him up for a while now, and if gets through the training week then he will be ready to play.”

The Springboks face Los Pumas from Argentinia in their final match in this year’s truncated Rugby Championship in Durban on Saturday before travelling to Argentina to play a Rugby World Cup warm-up Test in Buenos Aires. Roberts appears confident that if the aforementioned players can start in Durban.

And the group of available players coming back from injury should be further swollen by young lock Pieter-Steph du Toit.

“Pieter-Steph got through 40 minutes for the Sharks in a warm-up game against the Lions at the weekend and there has been no after-effect on his knee so he looks ready to go too.”

With Victor Matfield ruled out of the 2 fixtures against Argentina, coach Heyneke Meyer has a great opportunity to grow the experience of the 2 other potential No 5 locks in the group, with Lood de Jager of course having come off 2 excellent showings alongside Eben Etzebeth in the matches against the Wallabies and All Blacks.

There was also good news concerning the loose-forward options for this week, with Marcell Coetzee getting through training without feeling any pain in the knee he bumped against the Wallabies and which forced him to sit out against the All Blacks. Francois Louw is out with a shoulder injury, but he is well covered by both Coetzee and Heinrich Brüssow and it will be interesting to see what loose-forward configuration Meyer comes up with, when Alberts is given the all clear to start.

Additional returnees to training on Monday were centre Jan Serfontein, who is now fully recovered from his injuries, and Steven Kitshoff who has been out since the start of the international season.

“Steven trained well today and looks like he will be available for selection,” said Roberts.

Tighthead prop backup, Vincent Koch, like No 8 Warren Whiteley, cracked ribs against the All Blacks and a call on his readiness will be made after the scrumming session scheduled for Wednesday, which is the day of the team announcement.

Players who won’t be considered this week include Victor Matfield, JP Pietersen (hamstring), Jannie du Plessis (medial ligament), Francois Louw, Frans Steyn (pectoral muscle injury) and Duane Vermeulen (neck).

(SuperSport)

Handré Pollard

Pollard in doubt due to concussion symptoms:

Flyhalf Handré Pollard is in doubt for South Africa’s final Rugby Championship outing, against the Pumas in Durban on Saturday.

Pollard is struggling to overcome a head knock he suffered in the recent loss to the All Blacks in Johannesburg.

He will have to go through the usual pre-match concussion protocols to be cleared to face the Pumas at Growthpoint Kings Park.

Patrick Lambie and Morné Steyn are the most likely candidates to replace him in the No 10 jersey, should Pollard fail his fitness tests.

The Springbok team is likely to show many changes this week and a number of old hands are expected to return against the Pumas.

Victor Matfield, JP Pietersen, Jannie du Plessis, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen, Coenie Oosthuizen and Frans Steyn will all be watching from the stands this weekend, as they have been ruled out due to injuries.

The Springboks and Los Pumas go head-to-head in Durban this week – in the last round of The Rugby Championship action – before they head to Buenos Aires for their final pre-World Cup warm-up match, also against Los Pumas.

(rugby365)