Following the Springboks' 45-21 Nations Championship victory over England at Ellis Park on 4 July 2026, coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed a heavily growing injury list, highlighting significant concerns for Ox Nché and André Esterhuizen, alongside pre-match casualties Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth.
Despite the "injury crisis", Erasmus praised how the squad handled the last-minute chaos. Forcing older veterans out dropped the team's average age from 31 to 27, allowing young talents like Paul de Villiers (debut) and Cameron Hanekom (second cap) to get crucial high-intensity game time. Erasmus remarked that "destiny took charge of fact" and hailed the squad's system for proving they can win comprehensively even when stripped of their most experienced leaders.
Ox Nche was substituted just eight minutes into the match. Erasmus shared a grim outlook, stating, “Ox came off with a knee injury, and I must be honest, it does not look good. It is just my gut feeling, but I think he will be out. When a guy like Ox says he can’t go on it is usually serious,” said Erasmus at the post match press conference following the win at Ellis Park.. His participation in the upcoming series against the All Blacks is also in severe doubt.
André Esterhuizen left the field after a 10-minute stint as a replacement following a head knock. “André got a concussion in the game, and I am not sure what category that will be, so we await clarification on that one,” Erasmus said.
The Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, was a late withdrawal from the matchday squad after pulling up with a hamstring injury during Friday's captain's run. He scheduled a scan to assess the extent of the damage. “Siya picked up a hamstring strain late in the week, and we’re not yet sure what the grade is. He will go for scans tomorrow (Sunday). If it is grade one, he might recover in time, as that is usually 10 days, but if it is a grade two, he won’t be ready.”
Eben Etzebeth was also a late withdrawal on the eve of the match after sustaining a knock to the head during training earlier in the week. Erasmus noted he will be. “Eben took a knock to the head in training, and he could be okay for Scotland this week, but we wait and see.”
Erasmus also said that the Springboks are currently facing a massive lock shortage, with eight locks unavailable due to injury. However, the team's depth and versatile system mean several direct squad replacements are already tracking to step up for the Scotland Test at Loftus Versfeld. In slightly better news, Erasmus said that Lood de Jager might be ready for Scotland, while Franco Mostert was still two weeks out from returning.