Cape Town – The adage in sports that “you win some, you lose some” relates to the Springboks’ injury situation prior to their November trip of Europe.
Star-shaped wing Cheslin Kolbe will make his return to rugby after an almost three-month absence after being named to Toulon’s starting lineup at right wing for Saturday’s French Top 14 match against Brive at Stade Mayol (5pm SA time kickoff).
Since suffering a broken jaw in the first half of the third Test against Wales on July 16 at Cape Town Stadium, the 28-year-old speedster has been out of action.
He suffered a thumb fracture earlier in the year, and a leg injury sustained during a training session caused him to miss the final few matches of the Rugby Championship and the November tour to Europe. He has played in just 13 matches for Toulon since his transfer from Toulouse at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.
This week, though, Toulon stated via their social media accounts that Kolbe will wear the No. 14 shirt against Brive.
Canan Moodie will miss the next Tests against Ireland (November 5), France (November 12), Italy (November 19), and England (November 26) owing to a hamstring injury he sustained in the previous United Rugby Championship match against Edinburgh.
Bulls head coach Jake White, speaking from Scotland on Friday in advance of Saturday’s URC match against the Glasgow Warriors, stated that the 19-year-old will not return to action soon.
Additionally, Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar (ankle) cannot go with the Boks.
“At this point, it appears that Canan will be out for around eight weeks,” White added.
“Therefore, he won’t participate in either of our final two games (before the international Test window), nor will he be available to go with the Springboks.
“That means he should be back by the end of November, when we launch the second phase of the URC.
“Yesterday, Robbbies underwent surgery for his syndesmosis (ankle), so he should be back in action within six to eight weeks.”
But White had better news for Sbu Nkosi, another Bok wing who missed last week’s victory over Connacht due to concussion.
Since Sbu has been cleared to play, he will join us for the duration of the trip beginning this weekend.
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