Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus will miss Rugby World Cup-winning flanker Kwaga Smith for the test match against Ireland in July.
Smith was outstanding for the Springboks during the World Cup, displaying his versatility and influence off the bench, particularly in the final stages of the tournament.
Kwaga Smith excluded
The 30-year-old Smith’s Japan Rugby League 1 (JRLO) club, the Shizuoka Blue Revs, announced the news on Friday that Smith had suffered a torn adductor tendon.
The injury will keep him sidelined for at least five months, effectively ending his season in Japan. This is a devastating blow to the club as they lose their captain and star player.
Smith has already gone under the knife, posting an update on his Instagram account with the caption: The surgery went well. Start your road to recovery. ”
After five rounds of matches at JRLO, the Springbok is the Blue Revs’ top try scorer, having scored four times in five games, leaving him one spot behind the league’s top scorer. He also leads the conference in total turnovers with nine.
Last year, Smith was one of the most effective players at the breakdown in all competitions. In fact, according to Opta, no player won more breakdowns and jackal turnovers than Boxster in 2023, when looking at all players for club and country combined.
Springbok injury list growing
He becomes the third Springbok Rugby World Cup winner to be injured in Japan last week. His compatriots Jesse Kriel and Faf de Klerk are also missing from his club Canon Eagles.
Both players are at risk of missing the two Tests against Ireland, with Kriel undergoing thumb surgery and depending on his recovery.
In a statement released by the club, the player said: “He is suffering from pain in his thumb, which needs to be repaired and will have to undergo surgery, which will keep him out for a while.”
“Hopefully I won’t miss too many games and come back for a few at the end of the season. So I’ll do my best to recover as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, De Klerk has also undergone knee surgery, and it has not been announced when he will return.
“I’m really disappointed to have to undergo knee surgery. But I can’t wait to get back on the field with my Eagles family as soon as possible,” de Klerk said in a statement.
Erasmus is starting to pick up an injury ahead of his first game back as Springbok head coach.
Malcolm Marx is yet to return from the knee injury that ended his Rugby World Cup campaign in the pool stages. He is scheduled to miss the entire season in Japan, and his club Kubota Spears Funabashi scouted All Black Dane Coles as his replacement.
Meanwhile, Bongi Mbonambi is also sidelined with a knee injury sustained in the World Cup final. Tighthead props Frans Malherbe and Vincent Koch have also not played for the Stormers and Sharks respectively since the World Cup. RG Snyman is also yet to feature for Munster since the end of the tournament.
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