Reinach blow could see Papier get into Springboks picture

The devastating injury blow to Stormers scrumhalf Cobus Reinach could aid in-form Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier in finally earning what would be a well-deserved recall to the Springbok fold, after a fantastic past few seasons for the Pretoria franchise.

Papier has been in blistering form for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup over the past two seasons, but has been consistently overlooked for the Boks.

Despite his brilliant form he was also not invited to the first Bok alignment camp of the season last month, but with the national team staring at a possible scrumhalf injury crisis heading into the start of their season, he may finally get his shot.

Reinach picked up a knee injury during the Stormers win over Glasgow Warriors over the past weekend and it could reportedly rule him out for up to three months, which would see him miss the Boks Nations Championship games against England, Scotland and Wales in July.

Question marks

There are also question marks hanging over the heads of Sharks scrumhalves Grant Williams and Jaden Hendrikse.

Williams is currently recovering from a neck injury and is hopefully looking to return before the start of the international season, while Hendrikse has suffered two concussions in under two months, which is a big worry and he will have to be managed carefully.

Lions’ Morne van den Berg and Cheetahs bound Faf de Klerk are thus the only current injury free scrumhalves available for the Boks, making Papier a shoe-in.

Even if by the start of the international season the Boks have Williams, Van Den Berg, Hendrikse and De Klerk available, it would still be worth getting Papier back into the mix.

Former Junior Springbok star Haashim Pead is also an option, and was invited to the Boks alignment camp, but his lack of game time for the Lions will likely count against him.

With the form Papier is currently in it shouldn’t be a question of him being picked for the Bok squad, and he should even be challenging to be a starting option for the Boks when they get their season officially underway against England at the start of July.

But it remains to be seen if Bok coach Rassie Erasmus will be interested in giving him a chance to prove his credentials under him again, as he did when he first took over back in 2018.