Return of Pollard most central to Springboks’ world title defence?

At the start of the Rugby Championship, two veterans who have been sorely missed by the Springboks are Siya Kolisi and Handre Pollard, each being one of the most influential players in the forward pack and backline respectively.

Both are virtually irreplaceable players in this Springbok set up, although the good news is that the two stalwarts are expected to be back from injury just in time for the Rugby World Cup.

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At flyhalf, Damian Willemse and Manie Libbok are next in the pecking order, while Elton Jantjies is the fourth-choice flyhalf in the squad.

Notably, though, in an interesting analysis video by popular content producer Squidge Rugby, he highlights how Willemse showed a few shortcomings about his flyhalf game against the All Blacks recently.

Ultimately, when assessing the Springboks’ World Cup prospects, it’s suggested that the Springboks desperately need to be able to call on the services of Pollard if they are to have the best chance of defending their Webb Ellis crown.

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CHECK OUT THE PORTION OF THE VIDEO BELOW HIGHLIGHTING POLLARD’S IMPORTANCE TO THE BOK CAUSE

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HOW IS THE INJURY PROGRESS COMING ALONG?

When it comes to Kolisi and Pollard, what’s abundantly clear is that the Springboks will afford them all the time they need to prove their fitness, with the final Springboks squad set to be announced on Tuesday, 8 August at a special event taking place from 2-4pm.

“If you think of Siya and Handré, I would say that they have proved themselves in the past, so I think that would count in their favour a little bit,” Nienaber said this week, as quoted by Rugby365.

“In terms of injuries, those are the two that will be out of action the longest. Hopefully they will be back before the World Cup, but if it isn’t, we will make a call on them towards the end of the tournament. One can take players like Handré and Siya without them having played a game before the World Cup. I think in the years that they have served South Africa, they have proven that they are good enough to do it.

“Siya was in the same position in 2019 having not played a single game. He was involved in the warm-up match against Japan, went to the World Cup and was very good. Similarly, Handré came out of a knee injury into the British and Irish Lions tour and didn’t play much before that tour. He went on to help us win the series.

“If everything goes well, hopefully they will make the warm-up games and again I reiterate, hopefully, but it is something you can’t predict. The one thing I can definitely tell you, is we will not push them.”

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