“At the moment, the focus is on the players here in the squad. Obviously, at nine we have Herschel Jantjies who has been there and we also have Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach returning, who will be a possibility.
“On the wing we have utility players like Warrick Gelant, Damian Willemse and Jesse Kriel, these are guys who can fill that void because of their versatility. At this stage, that's the way we are looking at it.”
Looking ahead of the second clash, lock Lood de Jager said they will continue to strive to play the best possible game.
“The thing with rugby is there has never been a team that played the perfect game, it’s a game with a lot of collusions, moving parts, and you don’t always get everything right.
Veteran Vermeulen available for second Test against the All Blacks
Image: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen has been declared fit and is in contention for the second Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The vastly experienced Vermeulen underwent knee surgery after the United Rugby Championship (URC) and missed the 2-1 incoming series win over Wales.
He also missed the 20-10 win over New Zealand in Mbombela at the weekend.
“Duane is ready for selection and he will be coming into contention for this week,” confirmed Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids.
“Duane is an experienced player, he is not just a good player on the field but a good person off the field. His experience in different areas of the game means a lot to the team.
“Knowing that you can still fall back on someone of his calibre who is coming back from injury means a lot to this team.”
Davids also gave an update on Faf de Klerk and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
“With regards to Faf and Kurt-Lee, they suffered concussion and are following World Rugby’s protocols with regards to that.”
They will not call up a replacement for De Klerk and Arendse, who has since been slapped with a four-week ban for his dangerous aerial tackle on Beauden Barrett.
“At the moment, the focus is on the players here in the squad. Obviously, at nine we have Herschel Jantjies who has been there and we also have Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach returning, who will be a possibility.
“On the wing we have utility players like Warrick Gelant, Damian Willemse and Jesse Kriel, these are guys who can fill that void because of their versatility. At this stage, that's the way we are looking at it.”
Looking ahead of the second clash, lock Lood de Jager said they will continue to strive to play the best possible game.
“The thing with rugby is there has never been a team that played the perfect game, it’s a game with a lot of collusions, moving parts, and you don’t always get everything right.
“We try to play the best game possible, but there will always be things you can work on and that’s why this week we will take a hard look at ourselves.
“We will put emphasis on areas we think need to be improved to give us the best performance on Saturday. The big word is intensity, both teams went at each other with everything they had.
“Because of the long history of the occasion, you don’t want to disappoint those people who played in the jersey before you.”
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