Franco Mostert's ankle injury in Saturday's 80-31 win over the Barbarians in Gqeberha has deepened South Africa's already stretched lock resources, though Rassie Erasmus pointed to several reasons for cautious optimism in the second row.
Mostert, who rarely leaves the field under any circumstances, went off late in the match and is awaiting scan results. Erasmus was unable to give a prognosis post-match. "Sous doesn't normally come off the field," he noted, acknowledging the concern without yet knowing the extent of the damage.
The injury lands in an already difficult landscape. RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, and Salmaan Moerat are all currently sidelined, while Ruan Nortje and Cobus Wiese missed the Gqeberha double-header due to their involvement in the URC final. Stormers locks Ruben van Heerden and Adre Smith have joined the training camp as the coaching staff works through their depth options.
Erasmus confirmed that Eben Etzebeth is fit and available, and that De Jager remains in the camp. Nortje and Wiese are expected to rejoin the squad following the URC final.
The brightest development from the Barbarians match, however, was the full-80-minute display from Riley Norton, the 20-year-old Junior Springboks captain. Norton was dominant in the collisions throughout and showed enough in the loose — including a well-read line off Grant Williams' shoulder for his first senior Springbok try — to draw specific praise from Erasmus.
"Riley came through today, the whole day, and he played against men today," Erasmus said. "We always see a lot of injuries, but you don't always look at the back-up that's there."