Kolisi may miss Rugby Championship
South Africa skipper and loose forward Siya Kolisi could miss the entire 2019 Rugby Championship due to a knee injury, coach Rassie Erasmus said on Wednesday in Pretoria.
Kolisi, who last year became the first black player to captain the Springboks, has been ruled out of the matches against Australia in Johannesburg on 20 July and New Zealand in Wellington a week later.
He is also doubtful for the final match in Argentina on August 10, in a championship reduced from two rounds to one because of the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Japan in late September.
“I think if we push him now... we might end up with more than a 50% chance that he will not go with us to the World Cup,” said Erasmus.
Possible temporary replacements as skipper include flyhalf Handre Pollard and forward Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen.
The Springboks, who are twice World Cup winners, are in Pool B in Japan with defending champions New Zealand, Canada, Italy and Namibia. The top-two finishers qualify for the quarterfinals.
NAMPA/AFP
Kolisi, who last year became the first black player to captain the Springboks, has been ruled out of the matches against Australia in Johannesburg on 20 July and New Zealand in Wellington a week later.
He is also doubtful for the final match in Argentina on August 10, in a championship reduced from two rounds to one because of the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Japan in late September.
“I think if we push him now... we might end up with more than a 50% chance that he will not go with us to the World Cup,” said Erasmus.
Possible temporary replacements as skipper include flyhalf Handre Pollard and forward Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen.
The Springboks, who are twice World Cup winners, are in Pool B in Japan with defending champions New Zealand, Canada, Italy and Namibia. The top-two finishers qualify for the quarterfinals.
NAMPA/AFP
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