South Africa: Springbok Coach Nienaber Clears Up Squad Selections

14 June 2022
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Keanan Hemmonsbey

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has chosen 43 players for the July series against Wales but not all will see game time as he looks to key areas.

There were a few surprising omissions when the Springbok squad was announced by coach Jacques Nienaber on Saturday, the biggest one being that of the first-choice No 8 Duane Vermeulen.

Despite Vermeulen playing for Ulster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal 17-15 defeat to the Stormers on Saturday, Nienaber confirmed that Vermeulen is in the process of being operated on after a lingering injury.

"Duane is going for a procedure during this week; I think he's got clearance from his club to do his rehabilitation in South Africa. Then he will go through the procedure, through the rehab and once he's cleared by his club we can pull him into our squad," said Nienaber.

Another omission was that of 35-year-old backline stalwart Frans Steyn, who was injured while playing for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup a few weeks ago.

"He's a player that we will probably pull into the squad during this year. We had an open conversation between us: 'Do your rehab, make sure you're 100% right, make sure you...

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