Springboks could suffer if demanding schedule leads to more injuries — Plumtree

Sharks head coach John Plumtree said the Springboks could suffer at major tournaments such as the Rugby World Cup if a solution isn’t found to the injuries suffered amid the demanding 12-month schedule South African clubs are facing.

He was speaking on the back of the Sharks’ narrow 24–20 defeat to the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship (URC) match in Cape Town on the weekend.

The Sharks have seen several national team players injured this season and even in the match, a couple went off.

Springboks go off injured

Aphelele Fassi’s knee injury appeared to be the worst and he had to go to the hospital for scans.

André Esterhuizen also went off due to a knee injury. Likewise, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi struggled with muscle cramps for a while before gingerly walking off the field.

Before the game, prop Trevor Nyakane was replaced by Hanro Jacobs due to a late injury.

Other Springboks not included in the squad due to injury were Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth, Grant Williams, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi.

On the Stormers side, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu went off after injuring his collarbone. This is the third match in a row that he has gone off due to injury.

On his injury, Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said while he and his assistant coaches had hoped to get him onto the field as soon as he was fit, they thought they had made a “calamitous error” when they first saw him go down in the match.

There appear to be as many Springboks who are injured as those who are fit at the moment. So perhaps Plumtree is on to something in his warning.

Season ‘getting a little undone by the injuries’

“Injuries seem to be haunting us a little bit,” Plumtree said. “It is certainly very stressful for the team. Our season is getting a little undone by the injuries.”

He said he hopes they will have Eben Etzebeth, Williams, Am, Venter and Vincent Tshikuta back in time for the game against Toulouse on 11 January. “It would have been nice to have them today,” Plumtree commented.

When asked is the injury dilemma the Sharks are going through and the Stormers had recently was rooted in the 12-month play without a break that has prevailed since South African teams joined European tournaments, Plumtree said players needed to be managed properly or there would be “an accumulation” of injuries to come before important international tournaments like the world cup.

He said older players in particular would struggle with this.

“It is not something a coach should get in trouble for talking about because this is something we are dealing with. Playing in the southern hemisphere, playing in the northern hemisphere – until that is sorted out we will see that [frequent injuries].”

Still, he tips South Africa to handle this demand while no other country could because of the depth of talent both locally and abroad.

And yet he stressed the importance of a pre-season window where players can rest, which is denied to them now.

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