- ‘Time ran out for some real champions,’ says Jacques Nienaber
- Siya Kolisi declared fit but Lood de Jager set to miss start
The world champions, South Africa, will have to launch defence of their title in France without a clutch of high-profile injured players including the Leicester fly‑half Handré Pollard and star centre Lukhanyo Am. The lock Lood de Jager will also miss the start of the tournament but the captain, Siya Kolisi, has been declared fit enough to be included in a squad containing 21 players with previous World Cup experience.
Pollard (calf), Am (knee) and De Jager (chest problem) have officially been placed on standby but can now only be added to the squad in the event of an injury to someone else. Pollard’s continuing absence leaves Manie Libbok as the first‑choice fly-half in the squad while the influential Am, who sustained a knee injury in the team’s 24-13 win against Argentina in Buenos Aires, is expected to be out of action for the next four weeks.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/08/handre-pollard-and-lukhanyo-am-out-of-south-africa-rugby-world-cup-squad under the title “Handré Pollard and Lukhanyo Am out of injury-hit South Africa World Cup squad”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
