Duane Vermeulen has been declared fit for selection this week but a cloud still hangs over his teammate Willem Alberts after the latter pulled out of the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup opener against Japan in Brighton on Saturday morning.
Alberts has played just seven games all season, and has struggled with a variety of injuries, heading towards the Rugby World Cup with very little game time and was widely expected to have played against the Japanese.
However the decision to withdraw him from the side less than 24 hours before kickoff has once again raised concerns, especially with the fact that Alberts is seen as a big part of South Africa’s ball-carrying philosophy.
While the team doctor Craig Roberts has played down the danger, and believes that Alberts should be ready soon, the question is what would happen if he isn’t?
The big flank will be reassessed on Monday and a decision will be made whether or not he will be available for selection in the crunch pool game against Samoa. If he isn’t fit, then another tough decision awaits for Meyer.
“I’m not too concerned about him,” Dr Roberts said.
“He was feeling it a little bit and we didn’t want to risk him and potentially rule him out for the whole tournament. We made the decision to be a little bit cautious rather than risk him.
“On a positive note I’m really happy at the way the guys have come through this weekend. Francois Louw showed no discomfort from his shoulder, while Fourie du Preez looked good when he was on.
“Jean de Villiers took a big shot to his face from a boot, he has a big thick lip but his jaw held up and more importantly his knee held up. So there were some positives from that point of view.”
Vermeulen has been cleared to play this weekend though.
“Duane has been training very hard, he took all the contact,” Dr Roberts added.
“We wanted to give him extra contact last week and he came through well. But yes, he is available for selection this weekend.”
The Doctor also allayed fears of Trevor Nyakane’s bump, which looks as if it healed rather quickly.
“Trevor twisted his hip flexor on the tryline trying to prevent a try, but it looks as if it has recovered pretty good,” Dr Roberts said.
The Boks arrived in Birmingham after a six hour bus ride described as “the quietest bus ride ever” by team members and will begin preparing for Samoa on Monday.
