WATCH: The Springboks might spring a surprise and still select Eben Etzebeth for the Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The 122-cap Springbok lock was not named in the matchday-23 due to a knee injury but Bok coach Rassie Erasmus revealed on Tuesday that Etzebeth might still be selected should he come through training pain-free.
Erasmus said Etzebeth twisted his knee during a live scrumming session and that it wasn’t as serious.
“It’s a meniscus. It’s just from changing one foot to the other in the scrum on his own, it’s not like someone ran onto his knee and he got a tear,” Erasmus said.
“He twisted his knee a little bit in a scrum session. Hopefully, the mechanics don’t show big trauma.”
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Erasmus explained that players need to train on Monday to be up for selection.
“We announced the team internally on Monday, with Eben out, because our policy is that if you can’t train on a Monday morning, you can’t play on a Saturday or Sunday.
“But then Eben goes and does the whole training session on Monday.
“I have to look at how this afternoon goes and then tonight [Tuesday] we will have a chat with all the players.
“We might make a change, because he might have miraculously recovered, and the doc says there is some science behind that, it’s not just the will to play or the occasion.
“If that’s the case, we will be too happy.
“It will be very unlucky for one of Marco, Elrigh, and Kwagga to be left out. It will be a call between the three of them. We will think clearly and see how Pieter-Steph moves and tonight we will make the call.”
