Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Wilco Louw (prop) were called up to the Springbok squad for their end-of-year tour on Thursday, following the injury withdrawal of utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels . Wessels, who is equally adept at prop and hooker, was named in the initial 34-man squad on Tuesday. However, he has subsequently been ruled out of contention after it emerged that he suffered an ankle injury in the Bulls’ United Rugby Championship clash against the Scarlets last Saturday, prompting Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus to call up his franchise team-mates.
Louw played the last of his 14 Tests in 2021, although he named on the Springboks’ standby list for the Incoming Series earlier this year. Grobbelaar, meanwhile, has been a regular member of the Springbok squad this season and started the Tests against Portugal in Bloemfontein and Australia in Perth. ‘Sad to lose a player’ 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 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 reall.
