Eben Etzebeth has been called into the Springbok squad and will join the group in France on Monday, replacing uncapped flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed, who is returning to South Africa with a shoulder problem.
Etzebeth, who missed the initial touring squad for the second phase of the Nations Championship through injury, now becomes the logical recall given the experience required for the upcoming Tests against France and Ireland. His 147 Test caps make him the most capped Springbok of all time.
Ahmed, 20, struggled with a sore shoulder throughout the week in Turin and missed most of the training sessions ahead of the Boks' 66-7 win over Italy on Saturday. Erasmus confirmed the squad has sufficient backline cover without him.
"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."
On the Etzebeth recall, Erasmus pointed to both experience and leadership as key considerations ahead of two critical matches. "With enough backline cover in the squad and a number of versatile players among them, we opted to call up Eben, who will not only bring vast experience to the group at this vital stage of the Nations Championship, but also valuable leadership skills, especially with two important matches against France and Ireland in the next two weeks before the Finals Weekend."
Erasmus will name his match-23 to face France on Monday. The Test at the Stade de France kicks off at 22h10 SA time on Friday and is broadcast live on SuperSport.