Rassie Erasmus has pushed back against suggestions that South Africa's second-row injury crisis creates a soft underbelly for England to exploit in Saturday's Nations Championship Test at Ellis Park, but acknowledged that RG Snyman's season-ending ACL injury is a significant blow.
Six locks are unavailable for the opening Test — Snyman, Jean Kleyn, Franco Mostert, Salmaan Moerat, Lood de Jager and uncapped Riley Norton — forcing Erasmus into a bench configuration that carries no specialist lock. Marco van Staden and Cameron Hanekom fill the loose forward spots alongside three front row replacements, with Pieter-Steph du Toit, starting at blindside, earmarked to provide second-row cover as he did through much of 2024.
"RG is definitely somebody that is a big loss for us without a doubt. He had an impact even when he started away against New Zealand in the second Test. He is a big guy and he really brings a lot of impact," Erasmus said, while noting that Kleyn was rarely on the bench and Norton remains a relatively new face in the squad.
Mostert and De Jager are each rated one to two weeks away from return and could feature later in July. In the interim, Erasmus has added Bulls utility forward Elrigh Louw to the squad after Norton suffered a hamstring tear in training. Louw, who missed the entirety of the 2024 international season through injury, provides additional lock cover alongside Cobus Wiese and Ruben van Heerden already in camp.
"Sous is one or two weeks away, and Lood is also one or two weeks away. So we just want to make sure if we do get another injury in the week or on Saturday," Erasmus explained, adding that Louw had been close to original selection before squad-size considerations kept him out.
Erasmus also flagged his enthusiasm for seeing Hanekom in action off the bench. The 24-year-old Bulls forward, who holds a single Test cap, had further opportunities curtailed by injury last season and has been a regular starter at number eight for the Bulls.