Scrumhalf Ross Cronjé sat out Springbok training on Tuesday because of the shoulder injury he sustained in the Super Rugby final.

The 34-man Bok squad assembled in Port Elizabeth to prepare for the Rugby Championship, which kicks off next Saturday.

‘We will monitor his improvement over the next few days before he is allowed contact,’ said Bok team doctor Konrad von Hagen about Cronjé.

Meanwhile, flank Siya Kolisi is recovering from an ankle sprain sustained while playing for the Stormers and should return to normal training next week.

Flyhalf Handré Pollard continued his on-field rehabilitation and his reintroduction to training will be done systematically.

Courtnall Skosan’s wife, Semone, gave birth to their first child, Courtnall Jnr, on Tuesday morning in Johannesburg, and the wing will join the Bok squad later in the week. UK-based scrumhalf Francois Hougaard is set to link up with the Boks on Sunday.

New Bok squad members Curwin Bosch and Dan du Preez had their first training session with the Boks, while the other new cap, fullback Warrick Gelant, sat out training because of flu.

‘Overall, the squad is in good spirit and they completed today’s training session at high-intensity,’ said Von Hagen. ‘Our aim for this week is to get them through as much preparation as we can, while obviously keeping in mind the workload of the players who have just completed a tough Super Rugby campaign.’

Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix