Rassie Erasmus and the Boks handed huge Nations Championship gift

Given the Springboks’ growing injury crisis, coach Rassie Erasmus has at last received some good news, with second rower Lood de Jager set to return to duty in the Saitama Wild Knights last outing of the season in Japan Rugby League One.

On a day when his test teammate Cheslin Kolbe with take his final bow in the league, de Jager has been named to start in Saturday’s third and fourth playoff against Tokyo Sungoliath.

The 33-year-old, who has appeared on 40 occasions for the Wild Knights, hasn’t been sighted since receiving a red card for a dangerous tackle during South Africa’s win over France in Paris in early November.

Subsequently banned for four matches, the Huyenote Spring High School product subsequently underwent surgery on a troublesome hip injury, but will now be able to get in some valuable game time in what will be his 41 st appearance in League One.

The Springbok will continue his association with the Wild Knights next year.

His return comes as Sungoliath farewell Kolbe, with the Springbok having been a great national and global advertisement for the quality of the league, in terms of the excellence he has maintained, both for Sungoliath, but also when he has returned to the test arena.

The playoff will be his 44th and final appearance for the Fuchu-based outfit, ending a three-season association in which he has contributed 23 tries, and 321 points; 218 of which have been scored this term, including 10 tries.

Kolbe is the competition’s leading point-scorer this season, 24 ahead of BlackRams Tokyo flyhalf Ichigo Nakakusu, and 37 ahead of the third-placed Kubota Spears pivot, Bernard Foley.

While last weekend was a massive disappointment, Sungoliath can still ‘rescue’ something from their schizophrenic season by snapping a nine-game losing streak against the Wild Knights to finish third, which would be an improvement on their quarterfinal exit last year.

There is no further news on de Jager and Kolbe’s Springbok teammate Malcolm Marx, although it seems unlikely the reigning World Rugby Player of the Year will feature when the Spears lineup is announced tomorrow ahead of Sunday’s championship game against Kobelco Kobe Steelers.

Marx did not return for the second half of Kubota’s 26-24 win over the Wild Knights in the semi-final after sustaining an injury to his bicep.