Springboks wait and see on Siya Kolisi

The Springboks’ team announcement has been delayed from Tuesday to Thursday amid doubt over Siya Kolisi’s fitness ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks.

Kolisi suffered what appeared to be a facial fracture in Saturday’s clash at Ellis Park after former All Blacks captain Sam Cane’s “proper knock”.

Official word on the severity of the captain’s injury has not been forthcoming from the Bok camp, and their decision to delay the team announcement until Thursday suggests they are likely to keep their cards close to their chest until then. Others in and around the infirmary may also have influenced the Boks’ “wait and see” approach.

It is significant that the world champions have delayed the team announcement. The Boks, to the consternation of their opponents, most notably England ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, have nailed their selection colours to the mast on a Tuesday, well ahead of match day. It has been a show of confidence in the team as much as a gauntlet-throwing exercise to the opposition.

It’s also the second straight week the Boks have bent team selection protocol. They usually inform the players of the team selection on a Sunday and go public on a Tuesday.

Last week, there was doubt over the availability of veteran lock Eben Etzebeth after he injured his knee, which it was initially thought would keep him from last Monday’s team practice, a prerequisite for selection on a Saturday. Etzebeth was initially left out of the squad, but he proved his fitness and was selected among the substitutes.

Bok scrum coach Daan Human told the media on Monday he could not shed more light on the severity of Kolisi’s injury. “So far we are still busy assessing the possibility of him being available for us in the week,” Human said.

Asked if Kolisi’s injury and the tight timeline for his recovery caused the delay, Human said: “I don’t think there is a particular reason. Let’s put it this way, Rassie will answer that one.”

He said Kolisi’s collision was “a proper knock” but he would not be drawn on whether Cane should have faced further sanction beyond the penalty the All Blacks conceded. The match officials decided the tackle, if it can be called that, did not meet the red card threshold.

“I can’t go into what the refs and the TMO saw. We’ve just seen what we’ve seen. Hopefully, Siya can recover soon and be fit to play the game.

“It’s up to them what they decide, if it was a red card or a yellow card. I don’t think we will ever go into the ref’s decisions or the IRB’s [now World Rugby] decisions on that. It’s in the past and we are looking forward to Saturday,” Human said.

Irrespective of Kolisi’s availability, the Boks will have much to ponder in their selections this weekend.

Should Kolisi, who has featured in four of the Springboks’ seven Tests this year, fail to recover in time there may be a recall to the match day 23 for Marco van Staden. The Bulls flank was dropped from the selected 23 last week after Etzebeth proved his fitness.

Another injury concern is wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who was knocked out when he attempted to tackle Rieko Ioane. It is unclear if the knock will preclude his involvement on Saturday.