Wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe are also out, while in Kolisi's absence, Jesse Kriel will lead the side.
The Springboks were dealt a heavy blow ahead of the second Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies in Cape Town on Saturday, when it was announced that captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit had been ruled out of the match through injury.
Wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe are also out, which means three frontline players will be unavailable as the Boks try and overturn a heavy 38-22 loss suffered at Ellis Park over the past weekend.
Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus was a surprise arrival at Monday’s press conference, after Deon Davids was expected to grace the media, and explained the extent of the injuries.
Kolisi was injured during the first half of the Test in Johannesburg, but soldiered on before being withdrawn after 45 minutes, and is expected to be out the longest, possibly for a month and could be in danger of missing the two-game tour to New Zealand in early September.
Du Toit has a concussion, while Arendse has a knee niggle and Van der Merwe an ankle problem, but they are expected to be ready for the tour in a few weeks.
Erasmus admitted that it had been a chastening past weekend, and that had contributed to their poor overall performance against the Aussies.
Gave us shots
“They gave us shots there. Siya hurt his knee about five minutes from halftime and shortly after that Marco (van Staden’s) mouthguard pinged which meant he needed to be assessed. Then Kwagga (Smith) had to come on, then Pieter had to go off concussed,” explained Erasmus.
It was also announced that Jesse Kriel would take over the Bok captaincy once again in the absence of Kolisi, as he did earlier this season when he captained the team against the Barbarians and in the first Italy Test at Loftus.
“Jesse is a guy who studies the opposition and rugby a lot. He is in tip top shape, can back up his words with actions on the field, and he is one of the most professional players I have been involved with,” said Erasmus.
“He also felt it last weekend, playing for the full 80 minutes and losing against Australia. So he will be really up for this game. We usually like having a forward as a captain, but Jesse has always been a pro and did very well in his first two games as captain.”
Return of Kolbe and De Allende
In better news the Boks will welcome back some reinforcements for the game, with Cheslin Kolbe and Damian de Allende set to slot straight back into the starting side, after missing the first Test with injury niggles.
Canan Moodie, who was at Monday’s presser with Erasmus, and has recently played at 13 for the Boks, is likely to be deployed on the wing on Saturday, while flyhalves Handre Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu should also be back in the match 23.
It will be interesting to see who the Boks deploy at No 8, after Kolisi filled the role the past weekend, and with Jasper Wiese still banned.
