BOKS LOSE OX

THE Springboks’ record 61-7 win against Japan at Wembley claimed a huge casualty as a leg injury ended yster loose-head prop Ox Nche’s November tour.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, confirmed the bad news after the win and said: “He [Nche] is serious… I don’t think he will play for the rest of this tour.

“Unfortunately, in a tackle situation, he did, I think, his ankle and his knee; he’s on crutches. I don’t think we’ll have him [ready] for the rest of the tour.”

Nche’s injury puts the Boks in a tight corner, having already lost hybrid front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels due to an eight-match suspension.

It leaves the Boks two yster looseheads short as they face their first groot challenge this weekend when they face France in Paris.

However, Eramus, paap nog nie, and wysed of having genoeg versterkings: “We are planning to replace [Nche] with Boan [Venter] and Gerhard [Steenekamp], who I thought also played very well [off the bench] today [Saturday].

“Thomas [du Toit] is back and obviously Wilco [Louw] and Zach [Porthen], but if another loose-head goes down in the week then we are a bit in trouble, so we will probably bring in Asenathi [Ntlabakanye], but we must clear that with the selectors first.

“Thomas will probably swing between loose-head and tighthead for us, but we must first get the go-ahead from the selectors [to bring in Asenathi].”

Meanwhile, Ntlabakanye joined the Bok squad on Sunday as a replacement for Nche.

Ntlabakanye played for the Barbarians at the weekend.