It’s been a busy and brutal year of rugby, and it is starting to take a toll as more Springbok stars have just been sidelined.
A few years ago, the end of the Springboks’ season in November would signal an opportunity for the players to head off on a holiday break.
However, the switch from Super Rugby and into northern hemisphere competition means that a number of leading South African players will still be participating in the URC and Champions Cup over the festive period.
After a taxing season, there has understandably been an accumulation of injuries, and the list of injured players does continue to increase.
The latest Springbok players to be added to this list include Manie Libbok, who suffered a nasty head knock while in action for the Stormers this past weekend.
Libbok is expected to be out of action for a good few weeks, while Sharks centre Lukhanyo Am also won’t return until after Christmas after picking up an arm fracture during a recent clash against the Stormers.
Here is the full list of Springbok players who are currently injured
- Frans Malherbe (ankle injury)
- Lukhanyo Am (forearm fracture)
- Manie Libbok (head injury)
- Damian Willemse (groin injury)
- Steven Kitshoff (neck injury)
- Lood de Jager (shoulder injury)
- Salmaan Moerat (knee injury)
- Jan-Hendrik Wessels (ankle injury)
- Evan Roos (shoulder injury)
SOUTH AFRICA ARE ENTRENCHED IN NO 1 SPOT IN THE WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS
| RANK | COUNTRY | POINTS |
| 1 | South Africa | 92.78 |
| 2 | Ireland | 90.78 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 90.36 |
| 4 | France | 88.51 |
| 5 | Argentina | 84.97 |
| 6 | Scotland | 83.34 |
| 7 | England | 82.31 |
| 8 | Australia | 81.52 |
| 9 | Fiji | 80.07 |
| 10 | Italy | 78.64 |
| 11 | Wales | 74.01 |
| 12 | Georgia | 73.85 |
| 13 | Japan | 72.95 |
| 14 | Samoa | 72.68 |
| 15 | USA | 70.02 |
| 16 | Portugal | 68.82 |
| 17 | Uruguay | 67.06 |
| 18 | Spain | 65.98 |
| 19 | Tonga | 65.46 |
| 20 | Romania | 63.01 |
READ MORE:
Springboks: Siya Kolisi’s verdict on positional switch back to where ‘Rassie spotted’ him
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi revealed he is loving playing number eight for the Sharks and is thriving with extra involvement in the game.
Kolisi who usually packs down on the openside of the scrum has been playing at number eight for the Sharks in their attempt to maximise their impressive depth in the back-row.
Credit to Exeter
Ever humble Kolisi gave credit to Exeter Chiefs and admitted the Sharks needed to dig deep after a strong start from the visitors.
“It was a tough game, credit to Exeter. The way they started the game – we thought it was going to go the other way. I think they’re one of the most physical sides from England,” the man of the match said in the post-match interview.
“But we stuck to our guns and fought back and we got a loose ball and were able to score from that so I’m glad of how we kept our composure.”
Where he got spotted
When asked about the positional switch, Kolisi was quick to reveal that number eight was the role he had caught the eye of Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus as a schoolboy all those years ago.
“I’m loving it – that’s where I started playing rugby, at 8th man. That’s where coach Rassie (Erasmus) spotted me when I was at school so it’s really good to get back to it. I’m getting the ball in my hands more… I’m more involved in the game and I’m enjoying it.”
The Sharks are off to a winning start in the Champions Cup but Kolisi knows it’s a long season and underlined how important a home play-off is.
“We know it’s going to be hard. The Investec Champions Cup is so difficult – you have to win all the games to put yourself in the ‘home’ play-off spot. So this is the start, we’ve got to keep going.”
