Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Cheslin Kolbe will play no further part in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series due to injury.
The Springboks and All Blacks board the same charter flight to Baltimore ahead of the series finale in the United States of America after South Africa went into a 2-1 lead with a 28-24 victory at the FNB Stadium in Soweto.
Springboks squad update
However, Kolbe won’t be making the trip to North America after the outside back broke his jaw during the first 10 minutes of the match.
Erasmus confirmed the news following the victory and revealed the names of several players who also won’t be making the trip.
“Cheslin broke his jaw,” the Springboks coach said, but added that the side will have options at full-back.
“Damian Willemse will be ready for next, so will Aphelele Fassi.
“Carlu Sadie, Boan Venter, and Ntuthuko Mchunu will all be staying behind with Cheslin as well as Ben-Jason Dixon, who still has concussion symptoms.”
Kolbe’s injury means that he will remain in South Africa, with scrum-half Herschel Jantjies now set to fly over with the side. He will provide cover at number nine, with Grant Williams being an option on the wing too.
“With Cheslin staying home, Herschel is flying with us. Canan Moodie is now getting fit too, and Grant will cover the wing too.”
Importance of continuity in selection
Erasmus also explained that while he wanted to chop and change throughout the series, he saw the importance of continuity in selection against the All Blacks and was pleased that they came out on top this time around.
“What we have learnt from the Lions Series and World Cup knockout games is that in a series like this, game three is the most important. We tried to manage the minutes in the Nations Championship, and we chopped and changed to find the solutions,” he said.
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“We have a long-term goal that we want to win the World Cup like all teams want to do, but I felt this game, minutes-wise it was very important. At half-time, I worried that we got it wrong because the guys were breathing heavily, but we had a good bench.”
The All Blacks also suffered setbacks in Soweto, with Ardie Savea injuring his shoulder and will also miss the clash in Baltimore, while Quinn Tupaea is in doubt due to an MCL knee injury.
READ MORE: Ardie Savea OUT of Springboks-All Blacks Test in Baltimore as Dave Rennie offers update on captain