South Africa’s lock Eben Etzebeth to play against Ireland after quick recovery

South Africa’s influential fastener Eben Etzebeth volition play against Ireland this weekend, Leicester’s Handre Pollard volition miss out, and Springbok manager of rugby Rassie Erasmus is replacing David Nucifora erstwhile the Australian leaves his IRFU manager of rugby occupation aft the World Cup.

There was a precocious level of certainty astir the assorted outstanding threads arsenic Erasmus and Springbok forwards manager Deon Davids spoke to media from their basal successful Paris up of South Africa’s pool-defining circular 3 gathering with Ireland successful St Denis connected Saturday.

Pollard is abbreviated of crippled clip but has not been discounted for further games. Being the defending satellite Champions South Africa expect to beryllium inactive competing successful France heavy into adjacent month. Etzebeth, who was withdrawn with a enarthrosis wounded aft 26 minutes of their triumph implicit Scotland and was omitted for their 2nd lucifer against Romania, has recovered much rapidly than expected.

“In the erstwhile property conferences we mentioned Eben was retired for 7 to 10 days,” said Davids. “It’s present seven. He reacted good past week with his instrumentality to grooming so, yes, helium volition beryllium successful contention for this week.”

Pollard is simply abbreviated of crippled time, and has had constricted engagement with his Premiership nine owed to injury. That was wherefore helium was not selected to question successful the archetypal instance. He was recalled implicit the play arsenic a replacement for hooker Malcolm Marx, who is retired of the tourney aft suffering a genu wounded successful training.

A World Cup-winning outhalf replacing a hooker successful a squad wherever the kicking is not wherever it should beryllium is an absorbing changeable by Erasmus.

“No, helium [Pollard] volition decidedly not beryllium selected for this week isolated from if we get 2 oregon 3 injuries,” said Erasmus. “He’s conscionable joined america today, he’s conscionable played his archetypal 40 minutes successful 14-15 weeks for Leicester connected Friday, and that was the contented wherefore we didn’t bring him to the World Cup, due to the fact that determination was a batch of ‘return to training’ that wasn’t done and past ‘return to play’ lone happened connected Friday night.

Handre Pollard of South Africa. He is abbreviated of crippled clip and volition miss retired against Ireland, but has not been discounted for further games. Photograph: Steve Haag/Gallo Images

“It’s bully to person him here, helium indispensable get up to velocity with the strength of our grooming sessions, slot successful nicely. We’ve lone played 2 games astatine this World Cup, I’m definite astatine immoderate signifier we’ll person him back. But not this weekend.”

There had been immoderate speculation that the Springboks manager would beryllium pursuing chap South African manager Jacques Nienaber to Dublin, but helium moved rapidly to quash those rumours.

“No, no, no, I won’t be,” said Erasmus. “There’s nary talks. There’s nary information successful that. I’m not definite wherever it’s travel from but I decidedly haven’t chatted to them [IRFU]. I’m decidedly not pursuing Jacques.”

The Springbok manager singled retired Johnny Sexton arsenic a pivotal beingness wrong the Ireland set-up. The Irish skipper and outhalf broke the points scoring grounds of Ronan O’Gara against Tonga past clip retired earlier manager Andy Farrell replaced him with Ross Byrne arsenic a precautionary measurement astatine fractional time.

“He is captious successful my idiosyncratic opinion,” said Erasmus. “I deliberation erstwhile I was with Munster we lone bushed them [Leinster] once. Whenever Johnny is successful the squad a batch of things happen, not conscionable arsenic a player. I deliberation it is each astir him and his presence.

“For a antheral that’s 38 to inactive people tries similar helium scored this play is stunning. As agelong arsenic helium is physically retired there, which helium is, nary uncertainty astir it, with his point-scoring tally. What other astir him is, [he is] not conscionable [vital] for his ain team, but precise intimidating for the opposition.”

The caput games up of Saturday’s crippled are astir to start. Erasmus has coached successful Munster with Jacques Neinaber and Felix Jones, portion RG Snyman, Jean Kleyn and Damian de Allende played with Munster. So Erasmus besides has a consciousness of the Irish psyche, and its strengths and weaknesses. On Monday helium referred to Ireland arsenic being the Springboks’ bogey team, and the World Cup arsenic Ireland’s bogey tournament.

“I deliberation the bottommost enactment is it volition boil down to respect, respect arsenic players and coaches and being fig 1 successful the world,” said the Springbok coach. “Hopefully we’ve got immoderate of the respect from them arsenic well.

“We worked with them and I deliberation with the idiosyncratic cognition of the players – they cognize astir our coaching benignant and our players, Jean Kleyn and truthful connected – I deliberation astatine the extremity of the time it evens out. Yeah, I deliberation it’s conscionable respect. We cognize each other, we cognize each other’s enactment ethic.”