Now it’s a crack on the jaw for Jean

DURBAN: As if the shock loss to Argentina was not enough to deal with, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer now also has a fresh set of injury concerns.

Following a sequence of losses to New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, the Springboks plans of resting some key players for their final game of the Rugby Championship in Buenos Aires could be put on ice due to the pressure of gaining some momentum just six weeks out from the World Cup.

The new injury worries are a broken jaw for returning captain Jean de Villiers, a new knee ligament injury for flank Marcell Coetzee and a sprained ankle for fullback Wille le Roux.

The original plan had been for the first-choice Bok team to remain in Durban this week and for a side comprised of players returning from injury and those needing opportunity to play in Buenos Aries.

The 34-year-old De Villiers could not have had a less auspicious return from eight months of injury. His teammates were as flat as an uncharged battery, and De Villiers took a crack on the jaw that has now put him back on the sidelines for four to six weeks.

He is not in danger of missing the World Cup but at best can now play again in the opening Pool match against Japan.

Coetzee, who was making his comeback from a knee injury sustained against the Wallabies in Brisbane, went down with an unrelated knee injury and is also out for at least six weeks.

Le Roux will be back in training in two to three weeks.

Meyer said: “We have let our country and our supporters down today with this unacceptable performance. We are a proud team,” he said.

‘What we dished up in the first half was very poor. I apologise to the country as the buck stops with me as coach. There are no excuses. I take responsibility and will work harder to rectify this before the World Cup.”

“We need to give credit to Argentina, who outplayed us,” he added.

“They delivered a great performance and deserved the win. They played a game that suited them and not us. We were just not good enough.”