Riley Norton was confirmed as a starter for Saturday's Nations Championship opener against England at Ellis Park before a Grade Three hamstring tear in the closing moments of training ended those plans. Rassie Erasmus revealed on Tuesday that the 20-year-old, who captains the Junior Springboks, was also set to return to the U20 squad after the England Test to help defend the U20 World Championship title.
"The plan was to play him in this game and then send him back to the Junior Boks for their playoffs," Erasmus said. "Riley's injury is a real setback, man. He really fit in well."
The injury was straightforward — Norton pulled up while chasing back in the second-to-last movement of the session. "It wasn't a weird incident. He just pulled it," Erasmus said, estimating a recovery timeline of eight to ten weeks.
The timing compounds an already serious lock crisis. Franco Mostert is nursing an ankle injury and is two to three weeks away from a return, while Lood de Jager was ruled out this week through illness. The cumulative effect leaves Erasmus without a specialist lock on the bench against England.
"The locks are certainly getting injured in our environment," Erasmus acknowledged. He also pointed to the step up in training intensity as a possible factor in Norton's breakdown, noting that junior players coming into the senior environment face a significant physical adjustment.