After the opening round of the Rugby Championship, the Springboks revealed that captain Siya Kolisi was expected to be out for up to four weeks due to a knee injury sustained in the first Test against the Wallabies.
At that time, there was real concern that he wouldn’t be able to feature in the back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks in September, but it’s now been confirmed that the injury is not as bad as first feared.
Kolisi has been cleared to tour with the Springboks in New Zealand, while Pieter-Steph du Toit, Willie le Roux and Jan-Hendrik Wessels have also all been medically cleared from their niggles.
Jasper Wiese has also been included in the touring squad, but he is still currently serving a suspension and will only be eligible for selection for the second encounter in Wellington.
The Springboks will battle it out with the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, 6 September, and the Sky Stadium in Wellington a week later on 13 September.
“We are under no illusions that both games are going to be massive, and every match against the All Blacks is epic given the rivalry between the teams,” Rassie Erasmus commented.
“We won our last four matches against them dating back to 2023, which marked only the the second time in history that we defeated them four times in a row, and there is no doubt that will motivate both teams.
“So, we need to ensure that we build on what we’ve been working on this year in the Incoming Series and Rugby Championship and take another step-up before facing them in two weeks.
“We are travelling to New Zealand tomorrow, which will give us sufficient time to acclimatise to the time zone, so we believe we will be settled and ready for the task ahead by the time we take the field.”
Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship Tests against New Zealand:
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese.
Backs: Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse.
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