The fallout from the drawn test series against Ireland is much bigger than expected, with the Springboks losing no less than three frontline players for the upcoming tour of Australia that starts off their Rugby Championship campaign.
The injury list was a lot worse than initially expected as the Boks will need a new lock, flank and hooker on the tour and that will make this weekend’s one-off test against Portugal is much more important given the rest of the international season than just trying to increase depth.
After Willie le Roux left the field early with concussion, the Boks on Tuesday confirmed that three front line players were out of the Australia leg of the tour - or at the very best scenario - the second game against Australia in August, and more likely would be trying to get fit in time for the first match against the All Blacks at the end of August.
This includes lock Franco Mostert, who broke his leg and is out for six months and Malcolm Marx, who has a tibia fracture and will be out for between four and six weeks after being injured in a clean-out by Irish captain Caelan Doris.
Tends to happen if you batista bomb on someone's outstretched leg. https://t.co/6lNxOLWCBP pic.twitter.com/z8btSc3SgG
— Angus (@AnalystGus) July 16, 2024
Marx’s injury is particularly infuriating as Doris was yellow carded for the roll, which certainly looked cynical at the least and intending to injure at the worst.
The biggest setback though may be the fact that Pieter-Steph du Toit was injured and will also miss four to six weeks, meaning he will also be in a race against time to be fit for the second game against Australia and most likely to return against the All Blacks.
The Springboks injury list 😮🤕 pic.twitter.com/HBFfVbCJLy
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 16, 2024
Du Toit’s workrate has been exceptional, and he was the top tackler in both tests against Ireland and the Boks will be keenly watching Ben-Jason Dixon as a possible replacement if he comes through this weekend against Portugal.
The type of injury Du Toit suffered was not clear but it cannot be underestimated how important he is to the Bok cause and it will be a challenge to face Australia without him.
BAD NEWS FOR VAN DER MERWE
There was also bad news for Edwill van der Merwe, who was also injured before the second test against Ireland and has also been ruled out for six weeks, although the type of injury and extent was not clear at the time of writing.
Erasmus said that it was important that the new debutants - seven were named in the match day 23 to face Portugal this weekend, continued pushing forward and established themselves to push the older members of the squad.
“We would love Phepsi to fill in for Siya [Kolisi],” Erasmus explained. “They have a similar style of play. We don’t use a typical openside and he has been almost living with Siya, trying to understand what Siya’s doing and what Siya’s strengths are, like ball carrying and blasting rucks.
“I think Phepsi has the mould and body to do that. So hopefully we can get that out of him.
“Ben-Jason Dixon is similar to Pieter-Steph in the way he plays. You will see that Ruan is on the bench and he isn’t a typical lock, but he’s definitely got the body to play both lock and blindside flank. You might lose some height, but you’ve still got Ben-Jason, who will call the lineouts if RG or Salmaan aren’t on the field.
“We’ve tried to do our succession planning and we’ve tried not to let that loss against Ireland affect our mindset. We didn’t have this opportunity in 2020, now we do, so we must stick with it.”
Several of the Boks will have 10 days off before regrouping for the Australia tour.