A throng of sun bathers and swimmers outside their hotel on the beach at Toulon would have given a misleading impression of South Africa a day into week two of their Rugby World Cup. Chilled inside, the players and coaches spoke about their next opponents, Romania, in respectful tones.
But former Irish international and Springbok attack coach, Felix Jones, suggested that there could be a level of uncertainty over the injury to their towering lock Eben Etzebeth.
Etzebeth was initially ruled out for seven to 10 days with a shoulder injury, according to director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, when he went off after 26 minutes of the Springboks’ 18-3 victory over Scotland in Marseilles on Sunday. He will sit out the game against Romania this weekend.
That prognosis remains unchanged but is not as watertight as previously stated.
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“I think that 7-10 days might change on a daily basis depending on how he progresses,” said Jones. “Eben is still a 7-10 day injury so he won’t be available for selection this weekend. But I don’t think he was directly in the plans to play this weekend regardless.”
The Springboks will continue the rotation of their players, who spoke about the value of having captain Siya Kolisi fit and leading the team. Kolisi performed something of a medical miracle by returning months ahead of schedule when he went from under the surgeon’s knife to being back fit for the World Cup after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament playing against Munster in April.
Against the norms, he was back leading his country just 119 days later.
Marvin Orie, the 6ft7in’ lock, who has played 12 times for South Africa and was, earlier this year, linked with a move to French Top 14 club Perpignan to fill an apparent vacancy in the second row, spoke of the importance of having the presence of a leading figure like the World Cup-winning captain.
“He’s phenomenal,” said Orie. “He’s been the leader for a long time now for this team. His humility comes through every day in training, how he interacts with all the players and everyone involved in the camp. Siya’s a fantastic leader, and for us it’s to try to emulate some of the stuff he’s bringing to the team and to follow him in the match.”
Deon Fourie, who is a modern-day phenomenon in that he can play both flanker and in the front row, also spoke about the mood the South African captain creates in the squad.
“I’ve known Siya since he came to Western Province as a 19-year-old boy,” said Fourie. “The way he has grown as a person and as a leader, it’s amazing. He connects with everyone, he’s just a special human being. He’s a guy that does the work through his actions and just his aura – he creates a vibe and an energy inside the team.”
Fourie, at 36, is the eldest in the Springbok squad and became the oldest debutant in South Africa’s history when he earned a first cap against Wales three months short of his birthday last year. On occasion he has played back row and front row in the same game.
He last played hooker for French club side Lyon in 2018 but is in the Springbok World Cup squad as the third option for Leinster-bound coach Jacques Nienaber, while also being a candidate for the flanker positions, normally on the blindside.
“I can’t put my finger on why I still feel good and still can run with the young guys,” said Fourie. “I did gymnastics for nine years and I’m not the biggest guy doing all the weights in the gym – probably I can write it up to those two.”
“In 2014 when I came to France, I came to play hooker. I played hooker here in the first year, second year I was flank, third year I was hooker again, then I moved to flank again. So I was bouncing around between the two.
“I’ve never tasted it [playing hooker] at Test-match level, that’s the reality. I’ve been training there for two years now with the Boks. I’ve been in and out with hooker training, but hopefully it’s like riding a bike. If I get the opportunity to play there I can just jump back on and ride it.”
