Major blow: Springbok main man confirms he won’t be part of the squad
At the start of the year, the Springboks suffered a major blow when it was confirmed that Steven Kitshoff had been forced into retirement due to a neck injury.
In addition, Elrigh Louw and Trevor Nyakane were also ruled out for the 2025 season, with the latter unlikely to feature for the Springboks again considering he will soon turn 36.
Recently, another bombshell was dropped by Japan club Urayasu D-Rocks after announcing that Springbok World Cup winner Jasper Wiese had suffered a serious neck injury.
As the injury list grows, there is also a big worry over Springbok prop Frans Malherbe, who has suffered a serious back injury and he could be sidelined for weeks or months depending on what scans reveal.
In the fifth case, veteran forward Deon Fourie is believed to have broken his tibia during Saturday’s game for the Stormers, and he will almost certainly be out for the rest of the year.
SPRINGBOKS’ 2025 TEST SCHEDULE:
TBC: vs Barbarians, TBC, TBC
5 July: vs Italy, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12 July: vs Italy, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
19 July: vs Georgia, Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
16 August: vs Australia, Ellis Park, Johannesburg
23 August: vs Australia, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
6 September: vs New Zealand, Auckland
13 September: vs New Zealand, Wellington
27 September: vs Argentina, Kings Park, Durban
4 October: vs Argentina, London
1 November: vs Wales, Cardiff
8 November: vs France, Paris
15 November: vs Italy, Turin
22 November: vs Ireland, Dublin
*SA Rugby are working on adding two more Tests for the Springboks, likely to be against Japan and Portugal
