Injuries delay Bok team

The Springboks have delayed until Thursday the naming of the squad of 22 that will face Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday.

Sport24

The delay is necessitated by a long list of injuries that will keep the Springbok medical team very busy during the early part of this week.

Team doctor Craig Roberts told a news conference in the Irish capital on Monday that eight players were being treated for a variety of injuries and that a clearer picture on their availability would only be possible later in the week.

Those on the injury list are fullback Zane Kirchner (knee), centre Adi Jacobs (ankle), scrumhalf Fourie du Preez (hand), lock Bakkies Botha (back), hooker Bismarck du Plessis (ribs), flank Schalk Burger (ribs), hooker Adriaan Strauss (back) and prop CJ van der Linde (hamstring).

Roberts said that at this stage he was reluctant to speculate on which of the injured players were most likely to sit out, adding that the medical team would be working around the clock to ensure as many of the players as possible were available for selection.

Forced cancellation

Meanwhile, the injuries forced the cancellation of the team’s field session on Monday with coach Peter de Villiers indicating that the preparations would go on indoors with video sessions and a gym session in the afternoon.

The match against the Six Nations champions is the Boks’ final Test of what has been a successful year with success achieved in the 2009 Lions Series and the Vodacom Tri-Nations.

De Villiers told the media conference that he was preparing the team as he would for any other Test this year.

“The Irish have a great team and they have shown in the Six Nations this year how good they are. They have also had a good run of results recently. This Test is no different to any we have played so far this year and we are preparing for it in that way,” he said.