The Springboks are dealing with an injury crisis at lock ahead of their clash with the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Round Three of the Rugby Championship.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus is already without the services of Rugby World Cup winners Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Jean Kleyn, but the lock depth has been further depleted ahead of the meeting with New Zealand.

Springboks assistant coach Deon Davids has confirmed that Salmaan Moerat and RG Snyman will definitely miss the clash against the All Blacks while Eben Etzebeth is in doubt for the fixture.

Erasmus called up Montpellier forward Nico Janse van Rensburg to ease the Boks’ injury concerns in the second-row, with the side’s versatility likely to plug the gaps particularly if Etzebeth is unavailable.

Springboks crisis

Moerat skippered the Springboks in the second Test match against Australia but was forced off the pitch in the first half after sustaining a concussion and was replaced by Etzebeth who completed the game.

Davids confirmed that the head injury has ruled the Stormers man out of the match while Snyman has not yet recovered from the injury that saw him miss both Tests against Australia. The Leinster-bound star now looks set to be absent for both games against New Zealand.

“Salmaan will follow the normal protocol for the HIA so unfortunately he will not be available for selection for this game,” the Springboks assistant coach told reporters on Monday.

“We know that Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, and Jean Kleyn are out through injury but at this stage, RG Snyman is out due to a leg (foot) injury unfortunately I cannot go into too much detail but he will be out for a couple of weeks.

“At this time, Eben Etzebeth is also struggling with a bit of a niggle. So that’s also something that we will look at in terms of his availability for this week.”

The long list of injuries means that Ruan Nortje could get a second start for the Springboks after shining in the second Test against Australia while flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit could make another appearance at lock.

Despite the setbacks, Davids is happy with the side’s depth in the position.

“Lucky we have some good depth in terms of guys who have played in those positions like Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ruan Nortje had a good game in his last outing,” he added.

We have also got an experienced guy in Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg who we have brought in and we have Ben-Jason Dixon who has also played a few games at lock for the Stormers.

“It will always be tough when you lose so much experience but it is also a great opportunity and an exciting one to see the quality that the next guy can bring to the squad.”

All Blacks locks

While the Springboks may need to field an inexperienced international lock pairing for the clash due to injury, the All Blacks have also had their second-row stocks depleted following the retirements of Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick.

However, they will welcome the return of captain Scott Barrett who has recovered from his injury that saw him miss both games against Argentina.

“Scott Barrett is back this week which is massive for New Zealand from a leadership point of view but also in terms of a playing point of view,” Davids said.

“Whitelock and Retallick were quality players and any team that loses that quality, it will take time to build from that but they have some good youngsters coming through and with the leadership and experience that Barrett and Tuipulotu around them, they will grow in stature.”