Boks’ Makazole Mapimpi out of the World Cup

It was anticipated but news of Makazole Mapimpi's exit from the Rugby World Cup still had a jarring effect on Monday.

South African Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus confirmed the news after Mapimpi fractured his cheekbone in Sunday night's clash against Tonga.

“It's sad with Mapimpi's injury because he'll be out for the rest of the tournament,” Erasmus said.

“It's sad that something like that happened because it was an accident, because he now has a fractured eye socket and a blowout fracture.

“The eye is swollen, and the cheekbone is fractured, so I think he's out for four to six weeks. We won't just miss him as a brilliant rugby player, but what he brings to the team is a lot of heart and honesty.”

Mapimpi, one of the stars of the last World Cup, drew the most raucous reaction when the Bok squad for France was unveiled in Johannesburg on August 8. Many Bok fans will be saddened by his departure.

The Boks will fly Mapimpi and their first casualty, Malcolm Marx, back to France to attend the final should they get there.

The Springboks' post-match victory celebrations after Sunday night's 49-18 win over Tonga were tempered by the news that Mapimpi had suffered a facial fracture.

His first-half collision with Tonga's scrumhalf Augustin Pulu saw head-on-head contact but it was not deemed serious enough for a red or yellow card.

The severity of the injury was not yet clear when coach Jacques Nienaber addressed the media afterwards. However, when the team walked to their bus in the bowels of Stade Vélodrome on their departure, the right side of Mapimpi's face showed significant swelling.

Overall, however, the Boks reached nearly all the objectives they had set out to achieve.

Flyhalf Handré Pollard returned and delivered a typically composed performance. He just about looked the Pollard of old and his four successful conversions from four attempts settled many nerves.

The Bok attack looked sharper when he departed the scene after 50 minutes and Manie Libbok replaced him. He, too, was blemish-free off the kicking tee.

“I think he will just get better,” said Nienaber about Pollard.

“I think he was solid. You look at his ball carries, that was decisive and good. His defence, I thought his level changed well and he put some proper shoulder hits in.

“I thought his off-the-ball work was good and his kicking game in general was good. The fundamentals [for which] we wanted him to tick the boxes, I think he ticked tonight.”

Though the Bok defence conceded three tries — one less than the tally they conceded for their entire campaign in 2019 — Nienaber, one of the game's defence devotees, was not concerned. He stressed the Boks' defence did not lack effort nor did they suffer system failures.

“We should perhaps also give Tonga credit for the way they attacked,” Nienaber said.

In fact, Tonga came hard at the Boks in the opening 20 minutes with 44 carries. The Boks, around the 10-minute mark, were required to stand firm near their tryline, and they did.

They showed remarkable resolve as they frustrated Tonga and they displayed a ruthless streak when they were able to break free. Tries by Cobus Reinach and Canan Moodie helped the Boks steal the march on the islanders.

Gradually they firmed their grip in the primary phases. Deon Fourie's influence grew, to the point where he was named man of the match. Jesse Kriel, a replacement for Mapimpi, played a strong hand. Vincent Koch and Jasper Wiese were tough of tackle and carry, Cobus Reinach and Moodie were typically incisive and André Esterhuizen ran at Tonga with legs pumping like pistons.

The Boks weren't always at their fluent best and Tonga were happy to make it a helter skelter affair when they could.

South Africa face an uncomfortable wait before the quarterfinal line-up is decided. By Friday evening the picture might become a little clearer after France's clash with Italy. By next Saturday the Boks will know if their next major stop in the north of Paris is Stade de France or Charles de Gaulle Airport.

If they make it into the quarters they face a 13-day break between games. Nienaber welcomed the opportunity to refresh.

“It’s a positive for us in that it was similar to our 2019 campaign,” he said.

“We also finished the pool stages early and had a 12 or 13-day break, so we’ve done it before.

“We’ll give the players two or three days off to get away from rugby and have a mental break, and then work on the things we can do better to stay in the competition until the end.”