Cheslin Kolbe is expected to be fit in time for the Boks’ last Rugby Championship match of the season against the All Blacks in Gold Coast on Saturday.

Kolbe missed South Africa’s previous three Tests, against the Wallabies and All Blacks, respectively, through a leg injury he sustained in training soon after the Boks’ arrival in Australia. His last game was against Argentina in Port Elizabeth on 21 August when the Boks clinched a 29-10 victory.

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids, during an online media briefing on Monday, confirmed that the star wing is back in training and in contention for selection this coming weekend. He added that the only Bok player unavailable due to injury is flank Marco van Staden.

“The only player injured at this stage is Marco van Staden,” Davids said. “He sustained an shoulder injury and didn’t take part in training today. The rest of the players were all able to train on Monday and all of them are in consideration for selection this week.”

The severity of Van Staden injury has not yet been disclosed, but even if he regains full fitness before Saturday’s clash with New Zealand, he will not be able to play due to the rule within the Springboks’ set-up that if a player does not take part in the first training session of the week leading up to a Test match, he will not be considered for selection irrespective of his availability.

In more good news, lock RG Snyman – who missed the Lions series due to injury and was then later released from the Bok squad – on Saturday made his return to action for Munster in their 42-17 win over the Sharks. When asked how long it’ll take Snyman to earn a national recall, Davids remained coy.

“RG is still part of the wider squad, but at this stage we haven’t spoken about him rejoining because we are just focus on ending the Rugby Championship on a high.”

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