Why Norton's performance has Erasmus smiling amid injury concerns
INJURY UPDATE: The Springboks have been given a silver lining to their dark lock-injury cloud, with coach Rassie Erasmus confirming that Eben Etzebeth is ready to play and heaping praise on Junior Bok captain Riley Norton after his mammoth performance against the Barbarians.
Franco Mostert suffered a late ankle injury in the Boks’ 80-31 victory over the invitational side in Gqeberha, but while Erasmus was unable to give a clear indication of the extent of the injury, he also shared some positives.
*Also read: Van der Merwe hat-trick, Horn’s audition headline 12-try Barbarians rout
“We don’t have an update on Franco Mostert. He’s going for scans tomorrow; Sous doesn’t normally come off the field,” Erasmus said after the match.
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After that 111 point spectacle of rugby, we took at closer look at the individual performances of the Springboks in their first hit out of the season📋
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While any concern over Mostert is no doubt devastating for the Boks, who are already facing a troubling situation in the second row, Norton’s performance was a bright light.
The 20-year-old was a standout performer at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as he not only produced one of the finest efforts of the match, but did so consistently for the full 80 minutes.
He was massive on defense and wherever physicality was concerned, while he also added softer touches of brilliance – his superb line off Grant Williams’ shoulder for his first try in the senior green and gold jersey being one of them.
South Africa’s lock stocks have been heavily hit by injuries in recent months, prompting Erasmus and his coaching staff to explore their depth in the second row.
RG Snyman, and Salmaan Moerat are all on the sidelines through injury, while Bulls lock Ruan Nortje and Cobus Wiese weren’t available for the first assignment of the season as they played in the United Rugby Championship final on Friday.
Stormers locks Ruben van Heerden and Adre Smith also joined the Bok training camp ahead of the Gqeberha double-header.
“Our lock situation is well-documented, but Riley came through today, the whole day, and he played against men today and he trains against Springbok players.
“Sous is hopefully not too bad. Ruan (Nortje) played for the Bulls tonight, Cobus is still there. Within our group Lood (de Jager) is in the group, Eben is ready to play. So, we always see a lot of injuries, but you don’t always look at the back-up that’s there.”
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