Bok prop Nyakane heading home from Rugby World Cup
The Springboks have confirmed that tighthead prop Trevor Nyakane is heading home from the Rugby World Cup in Japan due to a serious calf injury.
The prop picked up the injury during the Springboks' 23-13 loss to the All Blacks in their opening match of the competition in Yokohama on Saturday night.
The prop picked up the injury during the Springboks' 23-13 loss to the All Blacks in their opening match of the competition in Yokohama on Saturday night.
The injury looked serious from the outset, as Nyakane hobbled off the pitch with the help of Lood de Jager and Faf de Klerk during open play.
Scans confirmed the worst and Springbok forwards coach Matt Proudfoot delivered the news on Monday at their team hotel in Nagoya.
“Trevor’s done his calf and he’ll be leaving us and Thomas du Toit will be joining the group. It’s really sad for Trevor, I think he’s had a tremendous season. He’s worked incredibly hard and has quite comfortably made his transition into a serious international tighthead,” Proudfoot said.
So it's official - Trevor Nyakane's @rugbyworldcup is over after picking up a serious calf injury. @TheSharksZA prop Thomas du Toit will join the @Springboks in Japan. @ecr9495 @Hollywoodbets @ECRBreakfast @ecrdrivetime #TrevorNyakane pic.twitter.com/s3To2u0iKT
— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) September 23, 2019
“He’s a great guy in the group and it’s really sad for him. He’s going to be missed and we wish him well. We’ve given him instructions to go home and really work at that and who knows what this competition will hold.”
Nyakane’s departure from the Springbok squad has afforded Sharks tighthead Thomas du Toit a call-up to the squad in Japan. It’s understood that the 24-year-old was already in France with Toulouse in order to get some game time and stay fresh should he be needed in Japan.
Proudfoot says that the Sharks prop is an ideal replacement.
“Thomas is someone who has been with us for a good period of time in the build-up. He has the ability to play both sides of the scrum and that was important in our decision. Trevor fulfilled that role for us so it was an important decision to make as to who could do both sides,” Proudfoot said.
“Thomas’s evolution to doing that role is quite well-developed and we have a lot of faith and trust that he’ll bring his own set of skills to the team. He’s a very destructive ball carrier and he’s very good over the ball. Defensively he brings a lot of energy and he’s very powerful on the loosehead side and very strong on the tighthead side. We’ve got great cover coming in for Trevor.”
The Springboks play Namibia in Toyota this coming Saturday in their second clash of pool B. Kickoff is at 11h45 South African time.
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