The Springbok injury crisis which could see them lose their dominance in World Rugby
The Springbok injury crisis is in full swing and it is threatening to throw their dominance in International rugby down the drain. Rugby Onslaught looks at just how serious the injury crisis is.
This month, three of South Africa’s World Cup-winning pack have been injured in matches in the Top 14 and the Pro 14.
Just how serious are these injuries and how long can they be out of the game.
RG Snyman 6-9 months out
The star signing for Munster tore his ACL in his knee just minutes into his debut match for the men from Limerick. Snyman was one of the key young players for South Africa in the World Cup and this injury will be a bitter blow for the team.
He left an emotional message online after his terrible injury.
A message from RG Snyman after a very tough week for the World Cup winner.#SUAF 🔴 pic.twitter.com/69YoouqwTT
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) August 29, 2020
He has since had surgery and reports are that his rehabilitation is going well. However, we know that it will be a long road back to recovery for him.
Eben Etzebeth 3-6 weeks out
Eben Etzebeth wasn’t long back in the Top 14 for Toulon when he came off with what looked to be a painful rib injury. He came off after just 12 minutes when he came on as a substitute against La Rochelle.
#Springboks‘ Eben Etzebeth off with what looks like a rib/side injury
Lasted 12 minutes after coming on as a half-time sub#SRRCT #Top14 pic.twitter.com/wKoRGSkrsH
— Illtud W. Dafydd (@IlltudDafydd) September 5, 2020
Rib injuries can be tricky, bruising will keep him out for 3-6 weeks while a break could see him out for up to 3 months. This means we might not see the lock back in action until well into 2021.
Lood de Jager – 12 weeks
The Sale Sharks signing was seen walking off early in September with another shoulder injury. He had issues with it during the World Cup and it appears to have reared it’s head again in the Gallagher Premiership!
Someone noted that the injury looks like a shoulder dislocation which means we could see Lood out of the game from 6-18 weeks depending on the severity of the injury.
Left shoulder injury for Sale Sharks Lood De Jager. Posterior driven force to shoulder. Suspicious mechanism for dislocation. Note loss of rounded contour (arrow). A classic finding assoc w/ anterior shoulder dislocations. #GallagherPrem #SaleSharks pic.twitter.com/QjSSoerNLy
— InjuryMechanisms (@IMechanisms) September 6, 2020
This Springbok injury crisis sees the teams losing the strongest second-row partnership in rugby. With all these injuries potentially being long term, how will these players respond?
