Alberts in, Lood out

Lood de Jager has been ruled out of action for two weeks and will be replaced in the Bok squad by utility forward Willem Alberts.

De Jager picked up a knee injury in South Africa's 23-17 loss to Australia and will be sidelined for the next two weeks due to severe bruising. Alberts, who plays for French Top 14 club Stade Français, was selected as a suitable replacement because he can cover lock and plays across the back row.

Alberts will join the squad in Christchurch on Monday.

Meanwhile, scrumhalf Faf de Klerk sustained a chest injury and fullback Johan Goosen injured his ankle following an awkward landing after contesting a high ball. Both underwent scans on Saturday evening and it was decided they will remain with the squad and be given time to recover from their respective injuries.

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee says he is not pleased with his team’s discipline, but that there were several positives too.

‘Our set piece functioned well tonight, especially on our own scrum ball and our lineouts. We were physical and dominated the collision exchanges, created enough scoring opportunities but lost the ball in contact at times when we needed to go through one or two more phases,’ said Coetzee.

He was also satisfied with the contribution from the Bok reserves: ‘The replacements made a big impact when they came on. The effort is still good and I am happy with the attitude of the players, but it is hard lessons we are learning as a team.’

Photo: Matt Rogers/Getty Images

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