When the Springboks revealed their squad for the final two Rugby Championship games of the tournament, Willie le Roux was a noticeable absentee.
The veteran fullback wasn’t listed as an injured player, and despite an injury to Aphelele Fassi, it appeared that he had been simply ‘dropped’ from the squad.
Interestingly, though, it was confirmed on Sunday that Le Roux will now rejoin the national squad in Durban on Sunday, and train with the team until Wednesday as they prepare to face Argentina in their penultimate Rugby Championship match at Kings Park on Saturday.
Willie le Roux only to stay with Springboks for a brief period
Rassie Erasmus named a squad of 33 players for their two closing matches of the competition against the Pumas – the second of which will take place at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday 4 October – but with the team set to switch into full throttle at training this week, he called up Le Roux to assist in their preparations.
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The latest Springbok centurion will return to the Bulls following the conclusion of the team’s main training block on Wednesday, making him available for selection for the Pretoria side’s opening United Rugby Championship match against the Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (at 14:00).
“Willie is a member of our wider squad, and we feel it will benefit us to have him train with us early in the week,” said Erasmus.
“We try to train the way we play, and by having him in camp it will allow us to improve the quality of our training sessions ahead of this vital match.
“Every point will count in the next two games if we want to win the competition, so it’s essential that we get the most out of our training time to be as sharp as possible when we take the field.”
Erasmus added: “I’d like to thank Johan Ackermann and the Bulls for releasing him to train with us, and we wish them and the other South African teams the best of luck for the opening round of the URC.”
ALL TO PLAY FOR
The Boks assembled in Durban last week Thursday to begin their preparations for Saturday’s encounter and had training sessions on Friday and Saturday to get the wheels in motion following their return from New Zealand a week ago.
The Springboks are currently in second position on the Rugby Championship standings on 10 points, the same amount of log points as the third-placed All Blacks following their record 43-10 victory against their old foes in Wellington.
The Wallabies top the table on 11 points, with the fourth-placed Pumas on nine points, meaning the title race is wide open going into the closing two rounds.
