VIDEO: The absence of Moodie and Kleyn explained
Coach Jacques Nienaber has allayed fears that it was serious injuries that kept two players, utility back Canan Moodie and lock Jean Kleyn, out of the team to face Scotland in the opening match of their World Cup defence.
It was revealed that Moodie (hamstring) and Kleyn (knee) were not considered for Sunday’s encounter in Marseille because of ‘niggles’.
Nienaber confirmed that Moodie picked up his hamstring problem during the training camp in Corsica last week.
“He could not participate in all the training sessions,” the Bok coach told a media briefing, after naming his team to face Scotland in their tournament opener.
“Against a quality team like Scotland, you can’t go in with a couple of players that are not 100 percent fit.
“They will challenge you.
“Every single player must be 100 percent fit.
“He [Moodie] is probably 95 to 98 percent.”
Kleyn also suffered his setback last week.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber explains the absence of utility back Canan Moodie and lock Jean Kleyn from the matchday selection….)
“They took part in some of the training sessions, but they couldn’t finish the week,” the coach said.
“We managed them from a safety perspective.
“They were training yesterday [Tuesday] and today [Wednesday].
“We announced the team to the players yesterday [Tuesday] already and they started [training] yesterday – so we didn’t want top take the risk.”
However, the coach is confident the duo are carrying not long-term injuries.
Scotland is ranked fifth in the world and the Boks at No.2 – behind pool rivals, Ireland, No.1.
Only two teams can qualify for the quarterfinals, while Tonga and Romania are proverbial banana peels for the favoured teams.
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