Siya Kolisi and Kurt-Lee Arendse are set to miss the Springboks’ rematch against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday after big collisions in the victory at Ellis Park added their names to the injury list.
Arendse was knocked out early in the second half while trying to tackle All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane and was immediately escorted from the field to undergo a Head-Impact Assessment (HIA).
Soon after, Kolisi suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone after being tackled by All Blacks flank Sam Cane. Referee Andrew Brace told Kolisi that the tackle was checked by the TMO and ruled as only warranting a penalty.
Though Kolisi tried to battle on, he was substituted at the start of the final quarter.
Sporting a swollen right cheek, Kolisi was present at the post-match press conference, during which Rassie Erasmus confirmed that he would be checked for a possible fractured cheekbone.
“The doc will definitely have to look at him, he doesn’t normally look like this,” Eramus joked. “He looks a bit better.”
Erasmus also confirmed that Arendse suffered a concussion and is also set to miss the second Test at Cape Town Stadium, in round four of the Rugby Championship.
With Kolisi out, the Boks could look to Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth or Pieter-Steph du Toit to take over the captaincy.
Meanwhile, Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie are both set to return to the Springbok squad after bagging tries in the Currie Cup over the weekend, providing additional depth at wing.
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