Handre Pollard joined the Springbok camp in Paris on Monday, but he will not be involved in the mouthwatering clash against Ireland this weekend.
According to the Springboks’ director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, Pollard will only face Ireland in the Rugby World Cup Pool B clash on Saturday in case of an emergency.
Erasmus explains: “Handre has joined us, but he won’t come in immediately unless we have injuries.
Pollard has joined the #Springboks in Paris as Etzebeth was given the green light to face Ireland - more here: https://t.co/pGsm2fPNV0 👍#StrongerTogether #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/XscKaNY2Hg
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 18, 2023
“He only returned to playing [from a calf injury] last Friday, and we must first get him up to speed with the training sessions and then we’ll get him back in the mix.”
While Pollard is still getting back on track, there was a big boost for the Boks with lock Eben Etzebeth, who missed the win over Romania with a knee injury, declared fit to face the world’s top-ranked team.
With Ireland leading the Boks by one point in the pool, forwards coach Deon Davids says: “We said initially that Eben would be out for seven to 10 days, and he’s recovered well and is reacting well to training, so he’ll be up for selection.”
Davids adds of facing Ireland: “Ireland are the No.1 team in the world and you don’t get there if you don’t perform well. They are well coached, and have a good attack and defensive system, so we have to be on par in all departments of our game if we want to get a good result this weekend.”