Bok body count still rising
Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:33
Injury concern: Bok hooker Bismarck du Plessis
The Springboks were dealt another blow after JP Pietersen was ruled out of Saturday's Test against Australia, while hooker Bismarck du Plessis is considered doubtful for the match.
With a growing injury list and the possible suspension of prop CJ van der Linde, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has decided to delay the announcement of his team for the Tri-Nations encounter with the Wallabies.
He will now only reveal his matchday 22 on Thursday, two days later than the scheduled announcement.
Right wing Pietersen sustained a grade one hamstring strain in the 15-27 loss against the Wallabies in Durban and he will therefore miss South Africa's last match in the competition this coming Saturday.
Odwa Ndungane has been called up as a replacement and the Sharks flyer has already rejoined the squad at their base in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Springbok conditioning coach Neels Liebel summarised the team's medical report during a media conference earlier on Monday.
"JP Pietersen sustained a grade one hamstring strain during the match in Durban," Liebel revealed.
"He will not be available for this weekend's match and has remained in Durban for treatment and rehabilitation with the Sharks medical team.
"Bismarck du Plessis injured his right knee during the same match. He had a scan and saw a specialist this morning to further determine the extent of the injury.
"He is doubtful and a decision on his availability for selection will be made later this week."
There was further trouble for the beleaguered Boks, as skipper Victor Matfield was yet another casualty following the highly physical encounter against the Aussies at Absa Stadium in Durban, which saw a number of players from both sides stumbling from the field injured.
"Victor Matfield injured his groin when he landed awkwardly after he was pulled down in a lineout," continued Liebel.
"He sustained a mild strain of his groin and will be assessed again later in the week to determine his readiness to play."
Liebel did bear a shred of good news when he revealed that International Rugby Board (IRB) player of the year Bryan Habana could be fit to return to the Bok side for Saturday's Test.
"A decision regarding Bryan Habana's fitness for this weekend will be made later in the week," Liebel concluded.
The fitness coach has already cut back on the Springboks' training programme for the week. The Boks will be training for just half of the more than eight hours they have put in weekly up to now. Their field session on Monday was also called off in favour of a pool session.
Meanwhile, Du Plessis' injury and prop CJ van der Linde's possible suspension pending a judicial hearing could leave the Bok front row in tatters. This could have a profound effect on the Springbok scrum, which has been a silver lining over the past few weeks.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has already indicated that he could look to World Cup winner Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck's brother, to fill in should Van der Linde be subject to a ban.
"If CJ is ruled out, and I cannot say I am optimistic [about how the hearing will go], then we will bring someone in, probably Jannie du Plessis," said De Villiers.
However, the Bok coach did not speculate on who would replace hooker Bismarck du Plessis, should he fail to shake off his knee complaint ahead of the Johannesburg Test.
De Villiers has indicated that a minimum number of changes will be made. "There are some tough decisions to make," he said, adding that he had all weekend to run the various scenarios through his head.
He added that he didn't want to take actions that can be construed as panicking and said that the players making the mistakes were those the Boks were depending on.
De Villiers was confident that the Boks were close to clicking with the new game plan he is trying to instill. He had no additional pressure on him.
"There was pressure since I got the job," he said, adding that nothing had changed. "We know the people are angry. We had opportunities and let them slip, and we should have won all three [home matches]," he said.
The Springbok team to face the Wallabies in Johannesburg on Saturday will be named on Tuesday.
SAPA/365
