The Springboks have been forced to make a change to the starting lineup to face the Wallabies in Pretoria after Ox Nche was ruled out of Saturday’s clash.

Nche is expected to be out of action for several weeks due to a pectoral muscle injury.

As a result, Steven Kitshoff was withdrawn at the last minute yesterday from the early travelling squad to Auckland for next week’s clash against the All Blacks and drafted directly into the starting lineup for the Wallabies encounter at Loftus Versfeld.

Former Junior Springbok prop Gerhard Steenekamp has been drafted into the national squad and had his first training session with the team today. The talented 26-year-old will travel to New Zealand tonight to train with the players who departed yesterday.

The #Springboks were forced to make a change to the team to face Australia in Pretoria on Saturday, with a former #JuniorBoks prop called up to the squad – more here: https://t.co/EvaQ00RD69 🔁#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/NA91GWaRy4

— Springboks (@Springboks) July 5, 2023

Experienced prop Trevor Nyakane is also training with the squad in Pretoria and will continue to serve as back-up cover with Elton Jantjies (flyhalf) and Herschel Jantjies (scrumhalf) for the Australia Test.

“It’s never ideal to lose a player to injury days before an important Test match, but unfortunately it’s part of the game,” says Jacques Nienaber.

“We are particularly sad for Ox because he’s been working very hard in the last few months and making a great contribution on and off the field. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

Nienaber adds: “On the upside, we have players like Steven and Trevor to fall back on, and with both players having been with us in Pretoria for the last three-and-a-half weeks, it’s an easy switch for this match.

“We’ve always emphasised the importance of being adaptable as a team, and that will be particularly important this season with the Rugby Championship, World Cup warm-up games, and the global showpiece itself coming up.

“We are fortunate to have such depth at our disposal. We’ve been tracking between 50 and 60 players in the last few seasons with an eye on the World Cup, so we know what talent we have at our disposal.

“This will also be a fantastic opportunity for Gerhard to experience our systems and to be in the national set-up. He’s been impressive for the Vodacom Bulls this season, and he’s a former Junior Springbok, so we are excited to see what he has to offer at training.”