The Springbok camp has been rocked on the eve of their crucial second Test match following the late, devastating withdrawal of veteran flyhalf Handré Pollard.
The two-time World Cup winner was forced to pull out of the announced team after sustaining a calf injury during a high-intensity training session on Wednesday. The sudden blow opens the door for rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to reclaim the No. 10 jersey, while Manie Libbok moves onto the replacements bench.
Speaking to the media, Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick opened up about the emotional toll the injury took on Pollard, who had been in superb form and working tirelessly behind the scenes.
“I’m not a medical expert, but I think it happened on Wednesday; we’re waiting for testing now,” Stick said. “I can’t really go deep and say how long he’s going to be out for, but it’s a calf.”
Stick praised the veteran's vulnerability and leadership, noting how difficult it was for a player of Pollard's stature to put the team ahead of his personal pride.
“The nice thing about it, and I know it’s a sad situation, is for a leader like him to be honest about how he feels, to lose his pride in the sense of saying, ‘I’m not feeling well’,” Stick explained.
“At that moment in the training session, I could see he was going through tears. I know it’s a sad thing to lose a player like Handré. He’s been in good shape, he’s been working very hard, he’s been positive and trying to assist the guys. So I feel for him, and hopefully he can recover quickly.”