Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus will have to deal without the services of front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels for the November internationals.<\/p>\n
The Bulls forward was included in the Springboks<\/a>\u2018 touring squad and linked up with the team in London despite the fact that he was still awaiting a final verdict on his suspension, which he opted to appeal.<\/p>\n Wessels<\/a> was issued with a nine-week ban after it was alleged that he \u2018squeezed and twisted\u2019 the testicles<\/a> of Connacht flanker Josh Murphy during the round four United Rugby Championship clash in Galway.<\/p>\n The front-rower appealed the suspension, which resulted in a week reduction of his ban<\/a>, not nearly enough to feature for the Boks next month.<\/p>\n Erasmus<\/a> was hopeful that he would be able to rely on the services of Wessels with the appeal going their way; however, their attempts to lift the suspension have failed, meaning that the Boks must make alternative plans.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a particularly heavy blow for South Africa as they may need to call upon the services of not just one but two players, as Wessels\u2019 utility meant that he covered by hooker and loosehead prop for the side.<\/p>\n We take a look at the candidates in both positions.<\/p>\n Props<\/p>\n Erasmus included three loosehead props, other than Wessels, in his touring squad in the form of Boan Venter, Ox Nche and Gerhard Steenekamp.<\/p>\n The stocks on the tighthead side include uncapped Zachery Porthern, who will debut against Japan at Wembley, as well as Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw.<\/p>\n The first question that will need to be answered is whether being three deep over five matches is sufficient cover, keeping in mind that one injury eliminates the possibility of hosting live scrum sessions in the week \u2013 Daan Human\u2019s preferred method of training.<\/p>\n If not, then the loosehead prop stocks are quite bare, and the Springboks may need to rely on Du Toit\u2019s versatility once again and call in another tighthead prop.<\/p>\n Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Neethling Fouche have both been included on the standby list for the Boks, with the former having the benefit of being more geographically placed as he is set to play for the Barbarians in Brentford this weekend against the All Blacks XV. Additionally, Fouche has lacked game time due to injury.<\/p>\n The third option lies in Sharks\u2019 prop Vincent Koch, who has been omitted from the squad entirely. While his time in the Green and Gold jersey looks to be running out, he would be a great stopgap option for this tour. While he is a tighthead prop by trade, he has switched sides before, notably doing so against England.<\/p>\n If the Boks require a player to mostly train and perhaps fill a spot on the bench against Wales or even Italy, Koch is certainly more than capable.<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus is \u2018unchallenged\u2019 by World Rugby policies\u2026 so why can\u2019t the Wallabies get it right?<\/a><\/p>\n Hookers<\/p>\n It may be touch-and-go whether the Springboks require prop cover; the situation at hooker is far more pressing, as Wessels was set to compete with Johan Grobbelaar for the role behind Malcolm Marx.<\/p>\n The trio would have been available for all five Tests, despite the first and last being outside of the official World Rugby window, but losing one hooker means that Erasmus will need to either ramp up his experimentation with Marco van Staden in the role or call in cover.<\/p>\n Further testing of Van Staden would still result in a lot of matchday minutes for Grobbelaar and Marx, which makes a call-up for a hooker all the more likely.<\/p>\n