Johannesburg – Bulls loose forward Elrigh Louw and the Stormers duo of Leolin Zas (wing) and JJ Kotze (hooker) have been called up to the South Africa "A" squad as injury replacements for Sbu Nkosi, Marco van Staden and Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Bulls No 8 Louw has been a regular member of the Springbok squad this season, while Zas and Kotze – both former Junior Springbok players – have been in form for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship.
They will travel from South Africa to Ireland on Saturday with the remainder of the squad for the team’s two-match tour.
Nkosi, Van Staden and Wessels all suffered injuries in the Bulls’ URC match last weekend against the Sharks and have been ruled out of the tour.
The travelling squad will be joined by SA "A" head coach Mzwandile Stick and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, as well as five players who are currently in Dublin with the Springboks as they wrap up their preparations for Saturday’s Test against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
“It is unfortunate for Sbu, Marco and Jan-Hendrik and I am sure they are very disappointed, but injuries are part of the game,” said Stick.
“Elrigh, Marco and Sbu have all been in the national system in the last two seasons, and as coaches, we know what we have in them, but their injuries have allowed JJ and Leolin to throw their names into the selection mix less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup, and we will never complain about that as we attempt to cast our net as wide as possible.”
Erasmus added: “JJ is an exciting young player and Zas has performed well consistently at senior provincial level for a few seasons, so it will be great to see what they bring the squad.
“We are facing quality opposition in Munster and Bristol in front of sold-out crowds, so these are going to be tough tests for the players and this is exactly the type of pressure we want to test them under as we consider our player resources going forward to the World Cup.”
Stick and Erasmus will name the five players that will join them on their trip to Cork on Sunday following Saturday’s Test against Ireland to allow them sufficient time to monitor any possible injuries following the match.
The SA "A" team will face Munster on 10 November and Bristol a week later.
IOL Sport