Springbok injury 'crisis' is not the calamity it has been made out to be

WHILE the Springboks are depleted by injuries, hopes are high that a host of stars will be back in it by August.

It is an indication of the passion of Springboks fans that there have been a series of alarmist posts on social media about a catastrophic injury crisis, but the reality is not that bad.

The lists doing the rounds — and the media has played a big role — suggest Rassie Erasmus will struggle to put a first-rate team on the field in the first Test of the year, the Nations Championship opener against England on July 4 in Johannesburg.

To be fair to the worriers, this is the one fixture where the Boks might be a touch compromised, but it starts getting better after that, and by the time the All Blacks arrive in August, Erasmus should have most of his big guns.

The alarm bells have been ringing over the last fortnight because of the injuries to Malcolm Marx, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, and Kwagga Smith, with the latter two unlikely to play again this year, but the good news is that several heavyweight Boks are about to resume playing.