Bulls duo Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Wilco Louw (prop) will tour with the Springboks to the UK from Sunday, after utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels was forced to withdraw from the trip because of injury. Wessels, who can play hooker and prop, was named in the squad of 34 on Tuesday, but he has pulled out of the tour because of an ankle injury. Louw played the last of his 14 Tests in 2021, although he was named on the Boks’ standby list for the Incoming Series earlier this year.
Grobbelaar, meanwhile, has been a regular member of the Bok squad this season and started the Tests against Portugal in Bloemfontein and Australia in Perth. ‘Opportunity’ Their inclusion in the group increases the number of players in the squad to 35 – comprising 19 forwards and 16 backs. “It’s always sad to lose a player to injury and we wish Jan-Hendrik all the best on his road to recovery, but this opens up the door for Johan and Wilco to make their mark against quality opposition in Scotland, England and Wales,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus.
“Jan-Hendrik offered us the luxury of serving as a prop and hooker, but with his versatility out of the picture, we decided to call up a specialist prop and hooker. “Johan has been part of the squad this season and is really growing in his role and in the team, while Wilco has been delivering consistently superb performances for the Bulls this season, and he has been knocking on the door for a while now, so I have no doubt he will want t.
