Head coach Rassie Erasmus believes the Springboks have sufficient depth despite concerns over the age profile of their locks and injuries in the build-up to the international season.
RG Snyman, Ruan Venter and Salmaan Moerat are all out with long-term injuries, while Eben Etzebeth is expected to be fit in time for the opening Nations Championship match against England on 4 July.
Bulls locks Ruan Nortjé and Cobus Wiese will also be available for the England clash after their URC final against Leinster, while Jean Kleyn should return from injury in the weeks thereafter.
Meanwhile, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Ruben van Heerden and Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton will be expected to lead the way in the lock department for the Springboks and SA ‘A’ against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe, respectively, in Gqeberha next Saturday.
Flankers Ben-Jason Dixon and Pieter-Steph du Toit may cover lock if needed.
Ageing Springbok locks
With the exception of Snyman and Van Heerden (both 28), Venter (23) and Norton (20) all the Springbok locks are in their early to mid 30s.
There is concern about this after injuries have repeatedly come up over the past few seasons, with the Boks eyeing their title defence at next year’s World Cup in Australia.
Speaking from the Springboks’ training camp on Thursday, Erasmus insisted the team had enough depth in all departments and were in fact struggling to find game time for some players.
He also said there was a difference between age and being too old to play.
“If you are too old and you can’t get over the advantage line, or you can’t lift in the lineout, or tackle or give us the battle range that we want, then you are probably too old,” he said.
“I really don’t think a guy like Franco Mostert’s age (35) will influence the way he is playing.
“It’s never been the age profile that worries us, though it maybe goes hand in hand with injuries. That’s possible.”
Springbok coach praises Riley Norton
He said Norton, who is a Junior Rugby World Championship winner though he has yet to play a senior game for the Stormers, already knows whether he will play for the Springboks or SA ‘A’ next week.
“He’ll get some proper game time… I don’t want to single out a player because he is not carrying us more than the others.
“He’s definitely a guy who’s got a maturity about him coming into the Springbok setup as a young guy and he’s not at all ‘windgat’ (show-off).
“There’s an aura about him that he understands what professional rugby is about. I think that’s why he’s such a great leader for the Junior Boks.”
