When will Siya Kolisi return to action after injury scare?
South Africa plays Italy in the opening match of the Castle Lager Incoming Series on Saturday. Having defeated the Barbarians 54-7 last weekend, the Boks, led by Jesse Kriel, will look for another inspired performance.
When asked about Siya Kolisi, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explained why the Sharks flanker missed the Barbarians match.
'Siya unfortunately picked up a niggle, but Marco did a good job at flanker last week and he is one of the core players in our team, so we are blessed to have such depth in the squad,' he said as per SA Rugby .
'If one goes through this team, there are so many leaders, and we were impressed with how Jesse accepted the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband last week. He is a player who leads by example on and off the field, and he thoroughly deserves this honour.'
The captain is likely to feature for the Springboks on 12 July against Italy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. At this stage, it is unclear if he will start the match.
Springboks XV15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 39 caps, 56 points (4t, 9c, 4p, 2 dg)14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 40 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)13 Jesse Kriel (captain, Canon Eagles) – 79 caps, 90 points (18t)12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 87 caps, 55 points (11t)11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps, 90 points (18t)10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 80 caps, 772 points (7t, 109c, 168p, 5dg)9 Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions) – 2 caps, 0 points8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 34 caps, 10 points (2t)7 Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped6 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 10 points (2t)5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 66 caps, 25 points (5t)4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 131 caps, 35 points (7t)3 Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 0 points2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 76 caps, 105 points (21t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 39 caps, 0 points
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