Rassie Erasmus has made a forced change to his touring squad ahead of Friday's Nations Championship match against France in Paris, recalling Eben Etzebeth while uncapped flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed returns to South Africa with a shoulder niggle.
Etzebeth, who missed the initial tour squad through injury, flies into France on Monday and will add to a group that beat Italy 66-7 in Turin on Saturday. The 147-cap lock's return gives Erasmus significant experience at a critical point in the tournament, with matches against France and Ireland to come before the Finals Weekend.
Ahmed, 20, was one of six uncapped players in the squad but managed little training across the week in Italy due to the shoulder complaint. Erasmus confirmed the squad has sufficient backline cover and versatility to absorb the loss without a like-for-like replacement.
"We are very sad for Yaqeen after earning his first call-up to the national squad, but we feel it will be best for him to return to South Africa to recover," said Erasmus. "After being with us for a week, he has a good idea of how we operate and has more insight into our systems, and we are confident that the experience will benefit him immensely as a player going forward."
Erasmus names his match-23 to face France on Monday.