Springboks duo Eben Etzebeth and Jaden Hendrikse will be available for South Africa Castle Lager Rugby Championship encounter against Argentina on July 29.
Recently, the fathers of stand-in captain and lock Etzebeth and scrum-half Hendrikse died. This made the 43-person squad of the current Rugby World Cup champions sad.
Etzebeth’s father, Harry, died in New Zealand after a long battle with cancer. The forward decided to stay with the team and lead it in a 35-20 loss to the All Blacks last weekend.
Hendrikse did not go to Auckland after his father Brian died because he was still getting better from an injury to his shoulder.
Etzebeth will definitely be on the 33-person team that will defend the World Cup title in France, starting with a match against Scotland on September 10 in Marseille.
Hendrikse, first choice Faf de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies, Grant Williams, and Cobus Reinach are all competing for what are likely to be three scrum-half spots.
Wednesday, Jacques Nienaber, the head coach of the Springboks, told reporters that Etzebeth and Nienaber will be in the running to play against the Pumas at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
New Zealand has a four-point lead over a struggling Australia before their match in Melbourne, so the match between South Africa and Argentina will probably decide who comes in second.
Before the World Cup starts in Paris on September 8, there will only be one round of competition. South Africa has five points, Argentina has four, and Australia has one.
Eight of the nine World Cups have been won by teams from the southern hemisphere, and the Rugby Championship gives teams a chance to play competitive games right before each World Cup.
Nienaber said that injury-prone fly-half Handre Pollard is making good progress in his recovery from a calf injury. Pollard hasn’t played for the Springboks since a loss in Australia in August 2022.
The coach said he thought the Leicester Tigers playmaker would be able to play in the second of three warm-up games for the World Cup on August 19 against Wales in Cardiff.
Siya Kolisi, the Springboks’ captain and flanker, hurt his knee badly in April but is expected to lead the team in France. He may also play in the Cardiff Test.
In other internationals before the World Cup, South Africa plays Argentina in Buenos Aires on August 5 and New Zealand in London on August 25.
After playing Scotland, the defending champions will play Romania on September 17 in Bordeaux, Ireland on September 23 in Paris, and Tonga on October 1 in Marseille.
The top two teams in Pool B will move on to the quarterfinals. The match between Ireland and South Africa is likely to decide who comes in first and second.
Photo: Aaron Gillions / www.photosport.nz
