Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Springboks have shuffled their squad ahead of the Rugby Championship with veterans Duane Vermeulen and Frans Steyn rejoining the squad.
Head coach Jacques Nienaber has also released Aphelele Fassi (Sharks) and Marcell Coetzee (Bulls) back to their franchises.
Nienaber’s side begin their Rugby Championship campaign with back-to-back fixtures against the All Blacks next month.
Vermeulen had surgery to his knee, while Steyn suffered a hamstring injury in June and the next few weeks will serve as the opportune time for the Bok coaching and medical staff to monitor the players’ progress.
Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf), who did his rehabilitation with the national squad following a dislocated shoulder, meanwhile, requires medical clearance from his club Montpellier before he can be considered for selection.
“Duane and Frans are both very experienced players and they each have valuable traits that they bring to the field of play, so we are excited to welcome them into the fold. This will offer the coaches and medical staff a good opportunity to determine where they are in terms of their rugby,” said Nienaber.
“We will reassess the size of the squad for our tour to Australia and Argentina in the next few weeks.
“It is disappointing for Aphelele and Marcell, but we were limited in how many players we could select. That said, we know what both of them can do on the field and we have a big picture in mind with the Rugby World Cup next year.
“We will continue to keep a close eye on them at their provinces as well as all the other players on our radar that were not selected in this group.”
Looking ahead at the southern hemisphere showpiece event, Nienaber said the squad will enter the competition with the momentum from their 2-1 series win against Wales:
The Springboks will assemble in Mpumalanga on Sunday and will have a training camp in Hazyview before making the journey to Nelspruit on Friday afternoon for the opening Test against the All Blacks at the Mbombela Stadium a week later.
Rugby Championship fixtures:
17h05: Saturday, 6 August – Springboks v New Zealand (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
17h05: Saturday, 13 August – Springboks v New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
07h30: Saturday, 27 August – Australia v Springboks (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
11h35: Saturday, 3 September – Australia v Springboks (Allianz Stadium, Sydney)
21h10: Saturday, 17 September – Argentina v Springboks (Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires)
17h05: Saturday, 24 September – Springboks v Argentina (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
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