Bok veterans ‘all ready to go’

EASTBOURNE: There have been sceptics that have wondered how long it will take for a number of patched-up Springbok veterans to be returning to South Africa from the World Cup in England, but team doctor Craig Roberts and his medical team refute that there has been a gamble in picking any player.

Roberts said that every player with the possible exception of Eben Etzebeth is “good to go” for the Boks’ opening match on Saturday against Japan, and that the Stormers lock had picked up a slight ankle injury after the squad had been officially announced.

Roberts agreed that he and his assistants have had probably the toughest year with injuries in the more than a decade he has been with the Boks, but scratch- ing names off the injured list one by one has given him enormous satisfaction.

But many wonder how long the elastoplast can stick on the likes of Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villliers, Duane Vermeulen and Coenie Oosthuizen?

“I am comfortable that they are all ready to go. It is up to the coach as to how much contact he wants them to take in the next few weeks,” Roberts said.

“It can be a fine balancing act in terms of giving guys game time while not overload- ing them, but the bottom line is that we would not put the player on the field if he was not fit to play. We simply would not do that.”

Roberts said the experience of the players also played a role in how they could be managed in their comebacks.

“Experienced players get back into form a lot quicker than inexperienced players,” he said.

“We can get away with not giving them a lot of game time and can manage them over the pool games.

“Look, we had some very bad injuries this season and a lot of credit must be given to our medical and conditioning teams, and the home franchises, because every single player has had his own unique management plan that has been closely followed.”

“It has been a long, hard road and we are proud that we have got the guys to the World Cup fit and raring to go,” Roberts continued.

“Rugby is a collision sport and you are going to get injuries all the time and it is a constant challenge to get the guys back on the field and performing well.”

Interestingly, the Bok doctor pointed out that the management of individual players was not just about injuries.

“You can’t expect (38-yearold) Victor Matfield to go through the same training load as (23-year-old) Pieter-Steph du Toit. We manage players accordingly,” he said.

Roberts said that the players were in racehorse condition after being able to ease off after the Rugby Championship and the match in Argentina, and spend the last month or so getting stuck into fitness.

“It can be a double-edged sword when you don’t play for a while in terms of the guys not getting match fitness, but the positive is that you can really concentrate on conditioning,” he said. “And it was really nice to have an overnight flight over to London on Friday night, so there is no jet lag. The guys have had Saturday and Sunday off and are now raring to start Test week.”