Bok star gets green light for Cardiff clash

NEWS: Springbok prop Ox Nche is available for selection this week despite the huge gash he sustained above his knee in the Test against England last weekend.

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids confirmed that Nche had recovered well from the injury and was already out training in the gym on Monday.

The big prop left the field in the 32nd minute while blood was streaming down his leg and was replaced by Gerhard Steenekamp.

The Boks are in Cardiff where they are preparing for their final Test of the end-of-year tour against Wales following victories over Scotland and England.

“Ox got a cut above his knee but he recovered well. He went to the gym this morning [Monday] and he, like any other players, are available for selection, ” Davids revealed.

Wales coach Warren Gatland and his players are under pressure to come up with some sort of plan to counter the Springboks. Their performance in 2024 marks its worst calendar year since 1937 should they fail to record a win over the South Africans.

But Davids did not want to get drawn into a discussion about picking a weaker Springbok side or that an easy game awaits them at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

“We always want to select our best team whenever we make changes, especially when we bring in younger talent to ensure that we surround them with good experience and leadership,” Davids said during a media briefing on Monday.

“Wales showed what a gutsy team they are [against Australia]. Unfortunately, they started a bit slow but they came back and showed that they are a team that shows effort.

“But then Australia pulled away from them towards the end.

“There are areas in the game that they were good at – their scrums were good and they were unlucky to lose a player like [Adam] Beard so early in the Test match that maybe influenced their rhythm in the line-outs.

“They are a team that maybe isn’t in a good place, but in terms of their effort and how they fought back, it’s a team that we respect.

“We know they don’t go away and we have to bring our A-game.

“We approach every Test match with pride and we have a lot of respect for our opponents and it won’t be any different this week,” Davids reiterated.