Springboks not rushing back Handre Pollard for crunch Ireland match

Handre Pollard won’t beryllium rushed into the Springboks for this weekend’s humdinger clash betwixt the top-two sides successful the world.

The archetypal five-eighth is grooming with South Africa up of the crunch excavation B lucifer against Ireland successful Paris connected Sunday greeting (NZT), but lone a drawstring of injuries would effect successful him featuring successful the highly anticipated Rugby World Cup match.

“He volition decidedly not beryllium selected for this, isolated from if we get 2 oregon 3 injuries,” Springboks manager of rugby Rassie Erasmus said.

Pollard missed enactment for the satellite champions’ rubric defence owed to a calf injury, but has joined the squad arsenic an wounded replacement aft hooker Malcolm Marx was ruled retired with a genu injury.

The 29-year-old playmaker returned from wounded past play during Leicester’s Gallagher Premiership triumph astatine Sale.

“He’s lone conscionable joined america today, he’s conscionable played his archetypal minutes successful 14, 15 weeks for Leicester connected Friday,” Erasmus told media successful France.

“That was fundamentally the archetypal crushed wherefore we couldn’t bring him to the World Cup. It’s bully to person him present and present helium indispensable get up to velocity with our strength of grooming sessions, get done our grooming sessions and slot successful nicely.”

With a last excavation lucifer to play – against Tonga connected October 2 – pursuing the lucifer against satellite No 1 Ireland, Erasmus indicated Pollard could diagnostic earlier the playoffs.

South Africa volition invited backmost fastener Eben Etzebeth to look Ireland, aft helium missed their rout of Romania with a enarthrosis injury.

Etzebeth was forced retired of South Africa’s opening triumph against Scotland, but had returned to training, forwards manager Deon David confirmed.

The victor of excavation B, apt to beryllium the victor of the lucifer betwixt the Springboks and Ireland, is expected to look the All Blacks successful the quarterfinals.