- Siya Kolisi ruled out for four weeks with Grade 2 knee injury and will miss the Cape Town clash against Australia on Saturday.
- Jesse Kriel will captain Springboks in Kolisi's absence while Pieter-Steph du Toit also out with concussion alongside injured wingers.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has denied that his players were tired after a tough three-week training camp, following their shock 38-22 defeat to the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.
It was a huge upset from the visitors from Australia, and was even more shocking after the Boks raced into a 22-0 lead after 18 minutes, before falling away badly over the rest of the match, especially in the second half when they gave away five tries.
Leading up to the game, a number of Bok players and coaches had revealed how the team had gone through one of their toughest-ever training camps to prepare themselves for the Rugby Championship, especially after a relatively easy start to their season.
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Kolisi was on Saturday night asked if the players may have been feeling the effects of that training during the match, as it was expected that the Wallabies would struggle in the second half on the Highveld, and not the home team--which proved to be the case in the end.
"We let ourselves down a lot. We have to take that on the chin. It's unacceptable. You start like that and then take your foot off the pedal. It's unacceptable," said a clearly frustrated Kolisi after the match.
"We felt fine. When you attack over and over and you get to the 22, and someone steals the ball, that takes your energy. It's not because you are tired. I can never make an excuse like that. We felt fine throughout the game."
But now Kolisi has suffered a knee injury and will miss Saturday's Rugby Championship encounter against Australia in Cape Town.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed on Monday that the skipper would be unavailable for at least the next month.
"Siya is out with a knee for four weeks, I think," Erasmus told reporters at the team's hotel in the Mother City.
The Bok coach added that loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit and wingers Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe were also injured and would not be available this weekend.
"Pieter-Steph has concussion, Kurt-Lee has a knee injury and Edwill an ankle injury," Erasmus added.
Erasmus confirmed that centre Jesse Kriel would captain the Boks in Kolisi's absence at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
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Kolisi's injury leaves him in a race against time to be fit for the Rugby Championship Tests against New Zealand.
The Boks tackle the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on 6 September and in Wellington on 13 September.
Erasmus, though, said they wouldn't rush Kolisi back too soon.
"The scans showed it's a Grade 2 knee injury. Some guys recover in four weeks, other guys take six weeks... we saw how he recovered before the World Cup in 2023... but this isn't a World Cup year."
In some good news ahead of this weekend, Erasmus confirmed that star winger Cheslin Kolbe and centre Damian de Allende were ready for action again.
