THE CAPTAIN'S BACK

SPRINGBOK captain Siya Kolisi made a miraculous recovery from a knee injury and will fly out to New Zealand on Tuesday for two hewige Rugby Championship Test matches against the All Blacks.

South Africa tackle New Zealand next Saturday at Eden Park and again on 13 September at Wellington Regional Stadium, with coach Rassie Erasmus selecting a 38-man squad for the tour.

Erasmus largely stuck to his big guns, with No.8 Jasper Wiese and Sharks duo Ethan Hooker and Makazole Mapimpi the only new faces in the group, that sees Jasper’s kleinboet and lock Cobus, and injured wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe the only players dropped from the squad that faced Australia in Mzansi.  

Eighthman Jasper, who is still serving out a suspension, will become eligible to play for the Boks in the 13 September clash with the Kiwis.

Meanwhile, Erasmus revealed that the knee injury Kolisi suffered in the 38-22 loss to the Wallabies at Ellis Park, was not as serious as initially suspected.

Pieter-Steph du Toit, who missed the 30-22 win against the Wallabies innie Kaap due to concussion, and injury concerns Willie le Roux and Jan-Hendrik Wessels have also been medically cleared, according to Erasmus.

Expecting the All Blacks to come out firing after a 29-23 loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires, Erasmus said of the importance of the tour: “We are under no illusions that both games are going to be massive, and every match against the All Blacks is epic given the rivalry between the teams.

“We won our last four matches against them dating back to 2023, which marked only the second time in history that we defeated them four times in a row, and there is no doubt that will motivate both teams.

“So, we need to ensure that we build on what we’ve been working on this year... and take another step-up before facing them in two weeks’ time.”

He added of the Rugby Championship title race set to go down to the wire: “All the teams in this competition are ranked among the top sides in the world, and each one has the potential to beat one another on the day.”

Bok squad v NZ: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse