Mystery surrounds the inhuries to Du Plesis and Steyn

"Rassie Erasmus' tenure as Springbok coach suffered another blow on Wednesday with confirmation that France-based duo Bismarck du Plessis and Frans Steyn have been ruled out of the three-Test England series.

READ: GREAT DEBATE: Springboks v England ... who will win?

Still reeling from the 22-20 defeat to an understrength Wales side in Washington DC last weekend, Erasmus' preparations for his first series at the helm took a double hit mere days ahead of kick-off in the opening clash at Ellis Park.

In a short, three paragraph media release, SA Rugby confirmed the pair had been "withdrawn from the Springbok group because of injury", claiming "both players sustained the injuries while playing club rugby in France last weekend".

The injury news will come as a surprise to many considering both players played the full 80 minutes of Montpellier's Top 14 final defeat to Castres last weekend and no prior mention was made of any injury concerns - until now.

The release went on state, without identifying the nature of the injuries, that both players "went for further investigations and specialist opinions and it was decided to rather withdraw them from the Springbok squad for the series against England".

No details of whether the players would be replaced, nor the length of their layoffs, was mentioned.

Following Saturday's clash in Johannesburg, the Springboks and England will do battle in Bloemfontein (June 16) and Cape Town (June 23). 

Whether Du Plessis and Steyn will feature in the Rugby Championship which follows in August, remains to be seen.

Kick-off at Ellis Park on Saturday is at 17:05."

There was no evidence of any injuries before or after the match last week and those are-

*     They suffer from lard strains; or

*     they are so deficient in fitness that turning up at the Springbok camp will just prove that they should never have been in the Springbok squad.  

Bismarck may be of some help in the absence if Marx - but Fat Fransie should never have been in th squad and he will not be missed.    

....notsoclevermike they were rubbish for Montpellier the other day ..Pienaar and Steyn kicking at 40%...BabboonBismark leaking penalties....injuries is probably just a cover story for them being past their used by dates...rumour has it Steyn is going to Ulster with Pienaar/..

"weakend"

I figured it out at last.     Erasmus saw the Top 14 Final and was horrified by what he saw and decided there is no way he could keep them in the squad//    

Fat Fransie tried to kick the ball - but he could not see his feet because his  huge fat load inclusive of his stomach got in the way.   As a result he lost ball possession twice.  Beside that he also saw how the ball hogger carried the ball 13 ties for a 6 meter gain.   He only passed the ball 3 times in the match,  Even Rassie could not take that display and he decided that Fat Fransie is a waste of space and decided to cancel his call up to the squad. 

As to Bismarck he tried desperately to copy his performance in  the Japan test in 2015 - despite a determined effort he could manage only two penalties against the four he gave away in the Japan test,    Why does this great player not realize he may harm his reputation by overstaying his welcome.   Probably did and he opted out/

Rassie has hardly started as Bok coach and already he's lying to us.

The truth will come out eventually. It always does.

Either way, both Bismarck and Steyn should not have been in the mix to begin with.

I suspect we'll more than likely see the end of Vermeulen too, come Monday.

It's the perfect opportunity to include a few more quotas.

Still would rather have Bismark than Strauss.

Anyone else notice how despite Strauss having decent performances, the moment he started for the Bulls their team performances got poorer?

The same happened last year when the Bulls played well in most of the games where he wasn't involved.

Maybe just happenstance but I think Strauss has bad mojo.

Still would rather have Bismark than Strauss.

Anyone else notice how despite Strauss having decent performances, the moment he started for the Bulls their team performances got poorer?

The same happened last year when the Bulls played well in most of the games where he wasn't involved.

Maybe just happenstance but I think Strauss has bad mojo.

Wtf? Why is the 'nature of their injuries' a mystery ? Why the secrecy? Retallick is out for 6weeks cos of a pectoral injury. Finish & klaar. Five days after the French final & we know sweet vokall.  Or, is it perhaps mental or sexual problems that demand secrecy?

SA rugby ......  an unique environment, fckd up & very strange.

The mere fact that no specific injuries have been mentioned leads one to believe that there's more to this than what they're telling us.

Could be political ... could be because of a fallout between the parties.

Either way ... it's a coverup.

I personally think that after studying their form Rassie realizd they should not be anywhere near the squad.   Fat Fransie has been since 2012 a disaster for  every team he played for and why he was ever considered by Rassie is a mystery.   The man is just playing on reputation and contributes  negatively to the teams he played for.   He was atrocious on Saturday.

I think Bismarck at 33 is way past his best and past his sell-by date.  Hwe willruin is reputation by making a come-back. 

Stated many times: NH clubs demand compensation for releasing their players to international squads.

SA rugby cant afford compensating NH clubs, SA rugby are broken.

Maybe there was an agreement to release the players for free if they had won the championship hence the announcement they were to join but after the game they put out, all the money spent on them to get a pitiful result, the club owner might have changed his mind.

.if Rassies deceiving us then I hope he falls flat on his face.

So this guy should come front and state that SA rugby can not afford compensating NH clubs for the players SA call in.

SA rugby is in a pitiful state, they failed to take the turn of professionalism. Today, it is too late.

The best option is to terminate rugby in SA. Lost cause.

Trad

Nee wat ou swaar. Daar gaan maar drasties min in jou kop aan.

I don't read any of his nonsense.

He's a bitter man in need of a hug.

Glad I don't know him personally.

Fat Fransie tried to kick the ball - but he could not see his feet because his  huge fat load inclusive of his stomach got in the way.

Funny to see ou Mike, always so indignant at what he perceives as personal attacks against himself, having no qualms engaging in it himself.

Erasmus made another statement on this issue and he apparently was told by Montpellier that the players have niggles and they need further scans to determine exactly what is wrong with them from a medical perspective.   

We may have a situation that the club is playing hard ball to prevent the two players from playing, but I still think there are more to it than meets the eye.    However - it is clear that tewo ar not up tos tandard anymore and Erasmus should learn from that experience.   .   

I don't read any of his nonsense.

He's a bitter man in need of a hug.