Bok door always open for a 'fit' Elton Jantjies
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Springboks management confirmed that Elton Jantjies will miss the end-of-year tour in November.
However, they shared some positive news regarding his international career.
The Springboks are set to play four consecutive Tests next month against Ireland in Dublin on November 5, France in Marseille on November 12, Italy in Genoa on November 19 and England in London on November 26.
Handre Pollard is expected to miss the November tour due to a knee injury he sustained during his Premiership debut for Leicester Tigers, while Jantjies will also be absent from the trip.
In the meantime, the Boks management opted to select Johan Goosen for the upcoming three-day training camp in Stellenbosch.
Jantjies has been in headlines since he was sent home ahead of the Springboks’ Rugby Championship match against Los Pumas in Argentina on September 11 after media reports suggested the flyhalf had an affair with team dietician Zeenat Simjee.
The 32-year-old has been linked to a move to Top 14 side Toulon in recent weeks.
#SquadAnnouncement: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has revealed a 26-man training squad ahead of their November tour 👇#SouthAfrica #Springboks https://t.co/9pjX68Kvoe
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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, South Africa Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus shed light on Jantjies’ omission.
“It is well documented that we mutually agreed that we would allow him to go home and handle personal matters after there was that reporting on him before an important Test, and because we didn’t know what was true or not,” Erasmus said.
“Since then he hasn’t played any rugby, so for us to select him would be challenging because we just haven’t seen him play.
“We’d love to be able to assess him in comparison to other flyhalves, but unfortunately we couldn’t do road maps [on his progress] because we haven’t seen him play.
“So, no he won’t be up for selection.”
Erasmus also explained that the Springbok door is certainly not shut for the 32-year-old.
“Elton is a Japanese player, he’s not contracted to SA Rugby, he’s not a PONI [player of national interest],” added Erasmus.
“If he’s not involved during a match week, then he’s free to take the weekend off in his capacity. We can’t be held responsible if a guy isn’t paying his water and electricity bill. What he does in his capacity is his business.
“He wasn’t part of the match squad [for the All Blacks that weekend], so he broke no team protocols. The only reason we’re not selecting him is that he’s not playing any rugby currently. We can’t compare him to fellow flyhalves for now, but a fit Elton Jantjies is four years younger than [Ireland captain] Jonny Sexton and if he plays good rugby, the door will always be open for him.”
Regarding Simjee, Erasmus confirmed that the dietitian will rejoin the team for the November tour.
“Zeenat is definitely joining us. I just want to reiterate that she wasn’t sent home as part of a sanctioning. She came back to merely deal with personal reports written about her,” Erasmus said.
“The alleged incidents happened when the Springboks weren’t in [the match-week] camp. She went home to be closer to her family and to deal with the reports. None of those reported events happened when we were in camp.
“She wasn’t punished at all. She needed to get to her family, specifically her father and get some assistance, whether it was legal or emotional support for going through a difficult time.”
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