Boks restart preparation after Covid-19 set-back
SOUTH African rugby can breathe a sigh of relief — for now — after the Springboks yesterday were cleared to resume training for Friday's match against Georgia in Pretoria.
The Boks' first Test match since the World Cup final in 2019 had been in jeopardy pending feedback from the Lions Series Medical Advisory Group, who were stewing over the positive Covid-19 results in the Bok camp on Sunday, but late yesterday afternoon the Boks were given the green light to immediately resume their preparations for the match.
Three players tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday following realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on arrival at the team hotel in Johannesburg, however, scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies has subsequently been cleared and can return to training.
The other two players — wing Sbu Nkosi and prop Vincent Koch — remain positive and obviously are out of the selection frame for the match.
Nkosi was due to start on the right wing because Cheslin Kolbe, the incumbent from the World Cup, has only just got back into the country following his involvement in the French Top 14 final at the weekend, won by
Kolbe's club Toulouse.
Nkosi's Sharks teammate, Yaw Penxe, is a strong contender for the right wing berth until Kolbe has reacquainted himself into the Bok set-up — he should be ready to rumble in next week's second Test against the Georgians, at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.
In a statement, SA Rugby said: “In light of the strict precautionary measures taken by the team and the effective isolation protocols since the squad assembled, the Springboks can resume their training programme from Monday afternoon.”
The Bok team to face Georgia in this first of the two Test matches will be announced today.
It is good news indeed for the beleaguered Boks that the Test match is back on course. The Boks desperately need game time before the big threeTest series against the British & Irish Lions, with the first Test (July 24) only a month away.
The Lions arrived in Johannesburg yesterday morning but there was not a peep from them nor from their hosts, SA Rugby. We can only presume the two camps are in earnest discussion about the itinerary of the tour, with it being widely understood that the Lions are not happy for the tour to continue as planned in the Johannesburg bio-bubble because it is the epicentre of the country's raging third wave.
The Lions are due to play the local Lions side at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday, the Sharks at the same venue next Wednesday followed by the Bulls in Pretoria the next week.
The tour then goes to Cape Town for three matches before returning to Joburg for the second and third Tests.
The Lions, reportedly, want all of the matches to take place in the Cape Town bio-bubble. There is also concern regarding the kick-off of the Georgia Test on Friday. The scheduled start is at 7pm, but with curfew now restricted to 9pm, such a late start for the match seems ill-advised.