Finishers Sbu Nkosi and Kurt-Lee Arendse have been recalled to the Springbok squad for the final round of the 2022 Rugby Championship when the world champions host Argentina at Kings Park on Saturday.
Arendse is available again after serving a suspension for a dangerous tackle in the match between the Springboks and All Blacks in Nelspruit in August.
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If selected, Nkosi would make his first Test appearance in almost a year, having last featured for the Boks in the 31-29 victory over the All Blacks in Gold Coast last October. The robust wing has since missed time with a gastric intestinal virus followed by an ankle injury, during which time he switched from the Sharks to the Vodacom Bulls where he made his Vodacom United Rugby Championship debut on Saturday.
“We have been pretty unlucky on wing in the last few months in terms of injuries, which has forced our hand at giving players such as Kurt-Lee and Canan [Moodie] a chance at international level, and we are pleased with the depth we are now building as we get closer toward the Rugby World Cup next year,” coach Jacques Nienaber said in a news release on Monday.
“Kurt-Lee had a great debut and played very well against the All Blacks, but he was unfortunately banned, and we are delighted to have him back as he’s a very talented player.
“Sbu has been in our system for several years now and he has recovered from injury, so we are excited to welcome him back. He has shown his class in several big matches, and he brings experience, so he will undoubtedly add great value to the squad.
“This also allows us an opportunity to take stock of the depth we have at wing as we are now a year out from the Rugby World Cup in France.”
Meanwhile, the Boks released Joseph Dweba, Warrick Gelant, Elrigh Louw and Salmaan Moerat for URC duty in a bid to get game time in preparation for South Africa’s year-end tour to Europe, which includes Tests against Ireland (5 November), France (12 November), Italy (19 November) and England (26 November) and mid-week matches against Munster (10 November) and the Bristol Bears (17 November), respectively.
Bok flyhalf Damian Willemse, who suffered a concussion in Saturday’s 36-20 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires, has also been released to the DHL Stormers to follow the prescribed return-to-play protocols.
“This year alone we have given close to 50 players an opportunity to play, so we have certainly ticked the box of creating squad depth, which is one of our key pillars for the team,” said Nienaber.
“We are, however, going into our last match of the Rugby Championship and we think it would be more beneficial for these players to return to their clubs and provinces to gain valuable game time. We have a long and challenging year-end tour ahead, which will involve an expanded squad, and we need the players to be match fit so we can hit the ground running when depart for the tour.”
Nienaber was set to announce his match-day squad for the Durban Test on Tuesday.
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Photo: EPA/WILLEM LOOCK
