Addition of Eben to squad signals Boks’ Championship intent

They spent 40 minutes drumming out a statement as they laid Italy to waste, but just in case you had any doubts about the Springbok intent to win the Nations Championship, a press release sent out by the management a day after the 66-7 win would have removed any doubt.

Young flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed is flying home to Cape Town to have a sore shoulder attended to before the resumption of the Vodacom URC in early December, and the man who will replace him is South Africa’s most capped player, Eben Etzebeth, who has been out of rugby since being injured playing a URC derby between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers.

Etzebeth’s injury did not rehab in time for him to make this tour, but he has recovered sufficiently in the past week for Erasmus to call up his most capped player. Whether or not he will be part of the team that starts against France in Paris on Friday will be known later on Monday, for once again coach Rassie Erasmus has elected to go early with his team announcement.

Should Erasmus elect to rush Etzebeth back in for the game it might be made possible by the fact that the lock played in all the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry games against the All Blacks as well as a full 80 minutes against Argentina in the game before that. As a senior player he also knows the Bok systems inside out so the task of being ready within five days might not be as beyond him as it might have been beyond another player.

However, the French game is just one of the big dates the Boks will be prioritising on this tour, and if Etzebeth doesn’t play on Friday he will be a reliable presence when the Boks head to Dublin to play Ireland in their final Nations Championship league game ahead of the Finals Weekend in London the following week.

MOERAT INJURY INCREASED NEED FOR EBEN’S PRESENCE

The need for Etzebeth to be with the Bok tour group was ratcheted up when Salmaan Moerat, who was set to wear the No 4 jersey against Italy in Turin, was forced out of the game shortly before kick-off.

“Salmaan had a little bit of a back spasm on Thursday, but we thought it would clear up,” said Erasmus.

“He looked good at the captain’s practice, but unfortunately in the warm-up he got more back spasms, so hopefully it’s not too serious. He’s the only casualty we have from the game. I don’t think there are any other serious injuries.”

The 20-year-old Ahmed, one of six uncapped players in the squad, was sidelined with a sore shoulder which saw him miss most of the training sessions in the build-up to the Turin game.

“We are very sad for Yaqeen after earning his first call-up to the national squad, but we feel it will be best for him to return to South Africa to recover,” said Erasmus on Sunday.

“After being with us for a week, he has a good idea of how we operate and has more insight into our systems, and we are confident that the experience will benefit him immensely as a player going forward.

“With enough backline cover in the squad and a number of versatile players among them, we opted to call up Eben, who will not only bring vast experience to the group at this vital stage of the Nations Championship, but also valuable leadership skills, especially with two important matches against France and Ireland in the next two weeks before the Finals Weekend of the tournament.”

BOKS SHOWED THEIR INTENT IN TURIN

The Boks showed with their attitude in the first half in Turin how hungry they are to stay ahead of New Zealand on the Championship log and thus qualify for the main final. They bristled with intent from the kick-off and looked determined to use the game to build up their points differential advantage over the All Blacks.

The 59 point win increased their advantage to 89 points, but the Kiwis cut that by 22 with their win over Scotland. That means the All Blacks have 67 points to make up as it stands, although obviously the Boks will increase their differential if they win both their remaining games against France and Ireland.

The All Blacks will be targeting this coming weekend’s clash with Wales for a big win as England showed against Australia that they will be tough to beat by a big score in New Zealand’s final game of the round robin phase at Twickenham.

The Bok team for the Paris game, which kicks off at 22.10 on Friday, will be announced at lunch time on Monday.