VIDEO: Boks' second row options suffer another setback
The Springboks’ already fragile second row stock suffered another setback this week.
Talented lock John Schickerling picked up an ankle injury in training this week, as the Stormers prepared for their Rainbow Cup trip to Pretoria and a showdown with the table-topping Bulls on Friday.
It is the second setback suffered by the lock this month, who injured his ankle in the opening round loss to the Sharks on May 1.
He returned to action a fortnight ago and now faces another spell on the sidelines.
With two World Cup winners – Lodewyk de Jager (Sale Sharks) and Rudolph Snyman (Munster) – also in a race against time for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series, Schickerling was in the running for a place in the Bok matchday squad.
However, he is now also ‘touch-and-go’ ahead of the July internationals.
Dobson said the injury is the same as the mishap he suffered earlier in the season – albeit the opposite ankle – and put his recovery period down as “two-to-three weeks”.
“It is [again] a grade two lateral ligament strain [of the ankle],” the Stormers coach said.
Stormers coach John Dobson said the latest injury is a big disappointment for the 26-year-old second row forward – who represented South Africa ‘A’, SA Under-20 and SA Schools, but is yet to be capped by the Boks.
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“He is going to Japan on a sabbatical at the end of the year,” the coach said of Schickerling, adding: “It will be very hard for him to make his debut from the Top League in Japan.
“He has to be a Springbok before he goes.
“That is one of the reasons why he is so disappointed.”
Dobson pointed out that there are opportunities beyond the Georgia Tests and the B&I Lions tour – such as the Rugby Championship and year-end tour.
“We know what a good player he is and at his best, he is certainly an international lock.
“I just hope he gets another chance to prove himself in the next few weeks,” the coach said.
Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert who – along with De Jager and Snyman – were instrumental in the Boks’ World Cup success in 2019, are the front runners for starting spot against the B&I Lions.
Other players in the frame for places in the matchday squad – against Georgia and the B&I Lions – include the Stormers’ capped Bok Marvin Orie, Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp (both Bulls) and Ruben van Heerden (Sharks).
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