Fly half Handre Pollard replaces injured hooker Malcolm Marx in Springboks squad
South Africa have elected to go with just one specialist hooker in their squad for the remainder of the World Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.South Africa have called up fly half Handre Pollard to replace the injured hooker Malcolm Marx in their Rugby World Cup squad.
Marx had his tournament ended by a knee injury earlier this week, with the Springboks declining to immediately name a replacement.
After thrashing Romania, though, head coach Jacques Nienaber has confirmed that Pollard has been called into his 33-player group.
Having started with regular hooker Bongi Mbonambi in Bordeaux, the versatile Deon Fourie and flanker Marco van Staden were utilised in the heart of the front row, leaving Nienaber content he had enough cover at the position.
“We are confident with the cover we have at hooker with Bongi Mbonambi and Deon Fourie, and Marco van Staden has been slotting in the position since our alignment camps in February, so we opted to call up Handre, who has been in our system for years and who was a member of our team in 2019 when we won the World Cup,” Nienaber explained.
Hooker Joseph Dweba had been placed on standby by the Springboks ahead of the tournament, with Van Staden, who had not played the position since he was a schoolboy, trusted as an emergency option.
Pollard had been a surprise omission from the initial 33 after battling injuries during the warm-up fixtures.
The 29-year-old, South Africa’s starting ten in their tournament triumph four years ago, featured off the bench for Leicester Tigers in their Premiership Rugby Cup against Sale on Friday night.
“[Pollard has] been working hard to return to full fitness, and we are pleased that he now has some game time under his belt for his club, and this will allow him to slot back into the team,” Nienaber continued.
“We’ll work closely with him in the next week to get him back up to speed and back into the full swing of things, and we have no doubt he’ll step up to the challenge. He’s been here before so he knows the physical and mental demands of the World Cup.”
The Springboks next face Ireland in a crunch Pool B fixture in Paris next Saturday.
Manie Libbok has established himself as Nienaber’s first choice first half in Pollard’s absence, while Damian Willemse started the win against Romania, although both have struggled from the tee at points.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments