Du Plessis and Steyn out of test series against England

Both has been carrying injuries and will not be able to play for the SA team against England.

Bismarck in the absence of Marx could have been of some help - but he is not the player he used to be -  from photos it appears he went the Fat Fransie way and that  confirms that he is on the way down,   I think Akker wiould be a much better option than Bismarck at this stage.

There are at least 10 centers better than Fat Fransie in SA and Erasmus made a huge mistake in selecting him for the squad in the first instance.  When playing for the Sharks he was the worst performing center in Super Rugby and he has not improved playing for his club since then.    This guy showed a lot of promise in 2006  and 2007 =  but went sour subsequently and by 2012 he was grossly overweight and slow.   That led to the classic remark of Plumtree that he is not a center at all.   

I think that this is provably the last opportunity those two would have had to play for SA.   I cannot see the two being in the RC squad.      .        

I wonder if they'll be replaced?

Maaik, in 2009 Fransie was the edge we needed to beat the ABs 3 in a row, but he played 15. His long range penalties and drop goals swung a few matches in our favour, games we normally would have lost.

I sad he turned sour by 2012 after his return from France.  At this stage his presence in the team would have negative effects and it is better that he is not anywhere near the squad.