PRETORIA: No 8 Warren Whiteley seems likely to miss Saturday's Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks after experienced flank Francois Louw re-joined the South African squad on Monday.
Louw returned to the United Kingdom immediately after the Springboks' win over the All Blacks in Wellington, and was not included in the squad for the remaining home matches against Australia and New Zealand.
Sikhumbuzo Notshe started at No 8 for the Springboks in the win over the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth in the absence of Whiteley, who sustained a groin injury in the Boks' famous win over the All Blacks in Wellington.
With Louw back in the mix, it seems that Whiteley is unlikely to feature this weekend against the world champions at Loftus Versfeld.
"Warren has gone to do some rehab today and we'll see how he goes and make a decision on him tomorrow. He is doing specific recovery and we'll get feedback on him tomorrow," forwards coach Matt Proudfoot said on Monday.
"We will hear from him if there is still pain on his groin and take it from there‚" said Proudfoot, who added that centre Damian de Allende may return to the side after also missing the PE Test.
Proudfoot was full of praise for Notshe's first start in the green and gold, but Louw may come straight into the team at No 8 against the All Blacks because of experience.
However, the Bath flanker hasn't exactly set the world ablaze in the Bok jersey this year, and it will be harsh to drop Notshe, who didn't quite get the opportunity to show his wonderful abilities on attack at the Nelson Mandela Bay, because of the Boks' lack of possession against Australia.
Notshe, though, did his primary job well and played with a lot of physicality against the Wallabies. But the Boks need to bring his explosive running into play, as he could be a great threat with ball in hand.
"I think he was very tidy," Proudfoot said of Notshe's run-on debut. "The first start can be a little bit nerve-wracking for a lot of guys, but he has been around the camp for a long time and he did his job.
"He is more of an attacking player and we want him to play his attacking game. We didn't get the flow we wanted in the second half where he could express himself. But I was happy with the way he engaged the scrum and he is developing into a reliable line-out option.
"Out of the guys in his position in the country‚ he is one of the better attacking players. I have coached him for a long time at Western Province‚ I am comfortable with him and I would like to see him getting more and more comfortable."