Alberts out of Rugby World Cup opener
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...Photo: Anton Geyser / Rugby 15
Springbok loose forward Willem Alberts has been withdrawn from Saturday’s Rugby World Cup opening game against Japan after injuring his calf during the captain’s run.
Pieter-Steph du Toit will start in the No 7 jersey with his place on the bench going to Eben Etzebeth.
“Willem felt some discomfort during the captain’s run and we took him out of the session as a precautionary measure,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts.
“We reassessed him again this morning and decided it would be better to withdraw him from the team.”
As a result of Alberts’ withdrawal, the starting team now only has a combined total of 851 Test caps. It is still more than the previous most experienced Springbok side (836 caps), which played in South Africa’s last Rugby World Cup match against Australia in Wellington, New Zealand in 2011.
Revised Springbok team to face Japan in Brighton is:
| Position | Name | Franchise / Club | Test Caps | Test points |
| 15 | Zane Kirchner | Leinster | 30 | 25 |
| 14 | Bryan Habana | Toulon | 110 | 295 |
| 13 | Jesse Kriel | Vodacom Bulls | 4 | 10 |
| 12 | Jean de Villiers (captain) | DHL Stormers | 107 | 135 |
| 11 | Lwazi Mvovo | Cell C Sharks | 13 | 20 |
| 10 | Pat Lambie | Cell C Sharks | 44 | 122 |
| 9 | Ruan Pienaar | Ulster | 84 | 135 |
| 8 | Schalk Burger | DHL Stormers | 79 | 70 |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | Cell C Sharks | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Francois Louw | Bath | 36 | 25 |
| 5 | Victor Matfield (vice-captain) | Vodacom Bulls | 123 | 35 |
| 4 | Lood de Jager | Toyota FS Cheetahs | 12 | 15 |
| 3 | Jannie du Plessis | Cell C Sharks | 64 | 5 |
| 2 | Bismarck du Plessis | Cell C Sharks | 73 | 45 |
| 1 | Tendai Mtawarira | Cell C Sharks | 68 | 10 |
| Replacements: | ||||
| 16 | Adriaan Strauss | Vodacom Bulls | 48 | 25 |
| 17 | Trevor Nyakane | Vodacom Bulls | 16 | 5 |
| 18 | Coenie Oosthuizen | Toyota FS Cheetahs | 21 | 15 |
| 19 | Eben Etzebeth | DHL Stormers | 37 | 5 |
| 20 | Siya Kolisi | DHL Stormers | 11 | 0 |
| 21 | Fourie du Preez | Suntory | 70 | 75 |
| 22 | Handré Pollard | Vodacom Bulls | 13 | 95 |
| 23 | JP Pietersen | Cell C Sharks | 60 | 90 |
Related Posts
« Match Report: Steval Pumas vs EP Kings Springboks accept full responsibility for Japan defeat »
