Springboks call-up World Cup star to replace injured Kurt-Lee Arendse

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has called up Sharks wing Makazole Mapimpi to the squad ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with Australia in Cape Town.

Captain Siya Kolisi and Kurt-Lee Arendse were both released from the squad after suffering injuries in last weekend’s 38–22 defeat at Ellis Park.

They are expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.

While Erasmus confirmed there is sufficient cover in the loose forwards, Mapimpi has been added as backline reinforcement and will link up with his teammates in Cape Town on Monday night.

The 34-year-old double Rugby World Cup winner, who has 47 Test caps, brings significant experience to a Bok backline hit by injuries.

Kolisi and Arendse join Pieter-Steph du Toit and Edwill van der Merwe on the casualty list, with Erasmus having already admitted the loss to the Wallabies was “an embarrassment” rather than a wake-up call. In better news he suggested that reinforcements in the form of Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe could be available for selection this week.

Mapimpi hardly needs an intro. The Bok veteran famously scored South Africa’s first-ever try in a Rugby World Cup final in 2019 and was also part of the 2023 squad that retained the title in France.

“On selection, there are already four players injured who won’t play this weekend: Siya, Kurt-Lee, Edwill and Pieter-Steph are out, so that’s four changes straight away,” said Erasmus earlier on Monday. “If you build squad depth, anyone can say they are building squad depth, but if you lose, then you’re not really building depth, because that depth must be able to perform. And we didn’t do that this weekend. That doesn’t mean it was the players’ fault – it could be coaching mistakes, it could be mindset.

“So yes, there will be changes this week. There were always going to be, even if we had won, but because we lost our momentum, there are some guys who would have played this weekend who now won’t.”