Pollard and Kolisi on same recovery timeline for Springboks

Next Saturday, the Springboks will swing into Rugby Championship action, and there will undoubtedly be more anticipation than ever about the start of the new Test season in a World Cup.

Unfortunately for the coaches, however, flyhalf Handre Pollard could miss out on the southern hemisphere showpiece due to the delay in his recovery from a calf injury. And interestingly, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has suggested he is now more or less on the same recovery trajectory as Siya Kolisi, with both Bok stalwarts targeting a return during the World Cup warm-up games.

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The Springboks will kick off their Rugby Championship campaign on Saturday, 8 July, against Australia at Loftus Versfeld, which will be followed by a Test against New Zealand at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland a week later (Saturday, 15 July).

They will wrap up the shortened version of the competition against Argentina at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday 29 July before heading into three warm-up games for the global showpiece.

“Our only real injury concern for the Rugby Championship is Handre,” said Erasmus this week. “It’s a calf injury that he injured again when he played for Leicester.

“At this stage he’s in a similar position to Siya (Kolisi) who could be available for the World Cup warm-up games.”

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SOME GOOD NEWS FOR SPRINGBOKS ELSEWHERE

On the fllp side, Springbok flyhalf Damian Willemse has been declared fit for the Rugby Championship, while lock Eben Etzebeth and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse were on track to return to action during the competition as they continue their recovery from shoulder injuries.

“Eben and Jaden’s test results are looking good, and Damian is good to go,” Erasmus commented.

Meanwhile, the Director of Rugby also revealed that utility forward Jean-Luc du Preez has joined the squad in Pretoria.

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2023 FIXTURES:

Rugby Championship:
Saturday, 8 July – Springboks vs Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 15 July – Springboks vs New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)
Saturday, 29 July – Springboks vs Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

RWC warm-up fixtures:
Saturday, 5 August – Springboks v Argentina (Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires)
Saturday, 19 August – Springboks vs Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Friday, 25 August – Springboks vs New Zealand (Twickenham, London)

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RWC fixtures:
Sunday, 10 September – Boks v Scotland (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
Sunday, 17 September – Boks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Saturday, 23 September – Boks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday, 1 October – Boks v Tonga (Stade Marseille, Marseille)

Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals
Weekend of 21/22 October – Semi-finals
Saturday, 28 October – Final

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