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Springbok No 8s are going down like flies but Rassie Erasmus says Jasper Wiese is coming to the rescue
The silver lining to the cloud of injuries surrounding the Springbok number eight position is the sooner-than-expected recovery of the incumbent in the position, Jasper Wiese.
On Thursday, coach Rassie Erasmus told the media that in addition to the season-long loss of Bulls men Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom, newcomer Juarno Augustus is sidelined with a back injury for the next month or so.
That resulted in the call for a reinforcement in the form of Evan Roos, who Erasmus was at pains to point out was initially not picked because other players were in better form than him. It was nothing personal.
The stoutly-built Wiese has rattled up 34 caps at number eight, with the majority of them coming after the 2023 World Cup. That was when Erasmus saw Weise as the successor to the retired Duane Vermeulen.
Earlier this year, Wiese returned from Japan to have surgery on a neck injury and it was feared he would miss much of the international season, but the 29-year-old's recovery is substantially ahead of schedule.
Erasmus said that Wiese could well be available for selection for the friendly against the Barbarians in Cape Town on 28 June. If that is the case, he will definitely get game time as he hasn't played since early April.
'It is a blow not to have Juarno with us and available as we wanted to get him involved and have a look at him — he has played for a team that has won titles,' Erasmus said of the 27-year-old's five years with Northampton Saints in England.
'Juarno was World Junior Player of the Year back in 2017 but he is not a 'laaitie' anymore. I am not completely sure what his injury is but it is something to do with his back. Unfortunately he is between two clubs. He is moving from Northampton to Ulster. So we couldn't bring him in ourselves for rehab, so unfortunately he is not with us now and won't be playing for us against the Barbarians or Italy.
'But fortunately we have Evan with us now and Jasper is doing well and on course to play against the Barbarians,' he added.
Erasmus said that his squad of over 50 players will be reduced to 42 on Sunday after he has assessed the Bulls' injury situation after their United Rugby Championship final against Leinster the day before.
'There are around eight Bulls players that will be joining us next week, excluding injured guys like Cameron and Gerhard Steenekamp. We have about 53 guys with us now but we will work with 42 from Sunday,' he said.
'Obviously (Leinster lock) RG Snyman will also only join us next week and the same with Handre Pollard who is playing in a final for Leicester (against Bath in the England Premiership final).
Erasmus shed light on a fresh list of injured players, some of them casualties from the URC semi-final between the Sharks and the Bulls.
'We have a few additional injured players. Ntuthuko Mchunu (of the Sharks) has picked up a knee injury and with Gerhard (Steenekamp) still out that means we might have a problem at loosehead. We only have Ox (Nche) and Jan-Hendrik (Wessels) there at the moment. Thomas du Toit is with Bath (for the final against Leicester) and won't be back next week.
'Grant Williams (scrumhalf) might be ready for the Italy or Georgia games but not for the Barbarians. (Sharks flyhalf) Jordan Hendrikse has a hamstring injury and because the Stormers never made the URC semi-final it means we won't be able to use Damian Willemse as he is now suspended until the Italy Test. I won't play the (mostly Bulls) players coming in next week against the Barbarians as there won't be enough time for them to get used to the new things we have been working on.'
Erasmus said he would give some fresh faces an opportunity against the BaaBaas.
'We can use the match to get a feel for the guys who haven't played for the Springboks yet, but we must make sure that the team is good enough so we don't get a hiding in our first match from a team playing without pressure.'
