Big risk for Boks as Kolisi and Pollard set to go into World Cup cold

It is almost certain that Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and vice-captain Handre Pollard will be selected in the final 33-man World Cup squad that is set to be named next week Tuesday.

Both Kolisi and Pollard are currently recovering from troublesome injuries and could head into the World Cup completely cold without any game time.

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Neither player was picked for the squad that is currently in Argentina for their match in Buenos Aires on Saturday, meaning that there are just two warm-up games left for them to get any sort of game time ahead of the showpiece event.

Those are against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday 19 August, and against the All Blacks at Twickenham the following Friday.

Ideally the Boks would like to get as much game time into two key players before the World Cup, but coach Jacques Nienaber admitted recently that it may not be possible, but that they are happy to take both players in cold.

This is a bit of a gamble though and could pose a significant risk, especially if there are any late complications in their recovery, however as of now they are both on track to be fit for the competition.

Shown faith

The Bok management has clearly shown faith that Pollard will be fit with them releasing Elton Jantjies from the squad last week, who had been brought in as injury cover.

But Pollard’s injury problems have flared up intermittently since last year, so it is still a big worry that he can’t seem to stay fit for an extended period.

Manie Libbok is settling into international rugby well, and Damian Willemse is a decent back-up, but Pollard is a key cog in the Boks plans to retain their title.

For Kolisi he has gone through this exact same thing before as in 2019 he also was injured in the build-up to the World Cup and only featured in the final warm-up game before the tournament.

But he was four years younger then and as you get older it does become tougher to get straight back into things.

The question is who will be able to step into his shoes if things do not work out?

Currently Kwagga Smith seems to be the front runner to take over the No6 jumper in Kolisi’s absence, while Marco van Staden has thrown his hat in the ring and Deon Fourie could be selected as a utility forward, so it will be interesting to see what the Bok management decides.