Eben Etzebeth has been recalled to the Springbok squad and will link up with the touring party in France on Monday, replacing uncapped flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed who returns home to recover from a shoulder niggle.
Etzebeth, who holds the record as the most-capped Springbok with 147 Test appearances, was omitted from Rassie Erasmus's initial touring squad for the second phase of the Nations Championship due to injury. His recovery has come at a timely juncture, with the Springboks facing France and Ireland in consecutive weekends before the Finals Weekend of the tournament.
Ahmed, a 20-year-old flyhalf who earned his first national call-up for this tour, was sidelined with a sore shoulder that saw him miss most of the training sessions in the build-up to Saturday's 66-7 victory against Italy in Turin. The injury prevented him from making a potential debut in that fixture, and the decision has now been taken to send him home for treatment rather than risk further aggravation.
"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," Erasmus said on Sunday. "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."
The Springbok coach explained the rationale behind calling up a lock rather than another backline option. "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 of the tournament."
Etzebeth's return bolsters the forward pack ahead of what promises to be a physically demanding fortnight. The Springboks face France at the Stade de France on Friday evening before travelling to Ireland the following weekend, two fixtures that will likely determine their seeding for the Finals Weekend. Erasmus will name his match-23 to face France on Monday.