Rassie hints at prop reinforcement following injury blows

The Springboks have suffered several injuries following their 67-30 dismantling of Argentina at Kings Park.

The result propelled the Boks to the top of the Rugby Championship ladder.

The Boks lead the charge, being one point ahead of New Zealand on the table.

The defending champions didn’t leave the match unharmed.

Erasmus confirmed that several players suffered injuries against Los Pumas.

He also hinted that the Boks would possibly call up a prop to bolster the front row depth due to the number of casualties.

“We have a couple of injuries,” Erasmus said.

“Damian [Willemse] suffered a hamstring [injury], Cheslin [Kolbe] injured his shoulder, and Ethan [Hooker] has an ankle niggle.

We will, in all likelihood, tour with the same group we used during the tournament.

“Mapimps [Makazole Mapimpi] and Handré [Pollard] will tour with us [to England].

“Grant [Williams] is fit again, and Ox [Nche] should be fine as well.

“It will be more or less the same players that’s been training with us.

“Thomas [du Toit] has an ankle niggle, so we might draft in Neethling Fouché, and Vincent [Koch] will go with us on tour.

“We’ll see how Ox is doing on Monday to see if he’s back in the mix and assess Thomas’ ankle.

“Argentina also suffered many injuries, but this group will go as is.

“If possible, we’ll call on Neethling as he might be that side [with the Stormers] if needed.”

The Boks and Argentina will travel to London on Monday for the deciding round of the tournament.

Depending on the result of the earlier match between Australia and New Zealand, a win could be enough to secure the title with the Boks’ superior points difference of 55 compared to New Zealand’s minus six.

Erasmus was full of praise for his flyhalf, as well as those who had given him the platform to express himself.