Springboks to cut extended training squad on Sunday
Evan Roos was brought into the Springbok squad over the past weekend after the serious injury to Cameron Hanekom. Picture: Charle Lombard/Gallo Images
The Springboks are set to cut their training squad from 55 players to 42 on Sunday, as they head into the second week of their pre-season preparations ahead of the coming international season.
The Boks named an extended 54-man squad last week for the build-up to the opening match of the season against the Barbarians in Cape Town later this month, while Evan Roos was added to the group on Sunday after Cameron Hanekom's injury, picked up in the URC semifinal between the Bulls and Sharks, ruled him out of action for some time.
A large number of players from the Bulls and Sharks squads have yet to join up with the Boks, due to them still being in action for their franchises, as well as some picking up recent injuries.
Players who would have been part of the squad, but aren't due to long term injuries, include Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Deon Fourie and Trevor Nyakane. They are not expected to play for the Boks this year, and Hanekom has now joined the list.
Short term injuries
Players in the current squad who are on the short-term injury list, and thus could make the 42-man group named on Sunday include Gerhard Steenekamp, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ben-Jason Dixon, Juarno Augustus, Lukhanyo Am, Jasper Wiese, Grant Williams, and Makazole Mapimpi.
All the selected Bulls players have yet to join up, as well as Leinster's RG Snyman, while Handre Pollard and Thomas du Toit, who take each other on in the English Premiership final this weekend when Leicester Tigers battle it out with Bath, will also be late arrivals to the Boks.
Damian Willemse will be unavailable for the opener against the Barbarians, as he still has to serve out his recent ban, after picking up a red card playing for the Stormers in the URC.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted in a press conference on Thursday that despite them shrinking the group, it didn't mean the players that get cut will miss the rest of the season and can still be included at a later date.
'We will wait to see if there are any injuries from the URC final and then announce the group of players on Sunday that will get together next week,' explained Erasmus.
'That said, it doesn't mean that those players are the only ones who will be in the mix this year. There are players who are returning from injury within the next few weeks and months, and we would definitely like to see some of the players who have been playing well get a chance this season.'
Augustus in limbo
One of the players that the Boks' management are unsure about when he will be joining up is Augustus, who picked up a back injury in training with Northampton Saints a few weeks ago that saw him miss the remainder of the English season.
But due to him switching clubs, to Irish side Ulster, he has to get medically cleared by Northampton first, before he can join up with the Boks, who will themselves assess when he can return to action.
Due to this Erasmus will feel relieved to have Roos available, though questions have been raised in some quarters about there being an issue between the Stormers No 8 and the Bok coach, which played a part in the player's initial exclusion from the Bok squad.
'I read in the media that it must be because of a personal issue that I didn't pick Evan. That is not true, and you can ask Evan himself. It was nothing like that,' said Erasmus.
'In my opinion, he just wasn't playing as well as the other number eights, and that doesn't mean he was playing badly. Sometimes you have guys of Springbok standard, like Evan, but other guys are ahead of them, or we have guys that can fit into the position in question.
'For instance, we have Kwagga Smith who can play number eight. It can also be a case of the guys we pick fit in better with what we are trying to do.'
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