Oupa back in Bok mix?
Teboho “Oupa” Mohojé’s stuttering Springbok Test career could be given new life due to the injury-enforced absence of Siya Kolisi.
|||Teboho “Oupa” Mohojé’s stuttering Springbok Test career could be given new life due to the injury-enforced absence of Siya Kolisi.
Mohoje is one of an interesting group of 18 players that SA Rugby announced on Sunday who will attend a four-day rehabilitation and conditioning camp in Stellenbosch from Monday onwards.
Kolisi was ruled out for the next three months after sustaining an ankle injury while playing for the Stormers last Saturday in a Super Rugby quarter-final against the Chiefs at Newlands. The 25-year-old blindside flank went off within the first 10 minutes and had surgery last Tuesday.
And it seems as if Mohoje – who has eight Test caps to his name – is back in the national picture as he was included in the Bok training group for the Stellenbosch camp. The Cheetahs No 7 has battled for form this season after a knee injury in November last year delayed his start to the Super Rugby campaign.
In fact, Mohoje was part of the Springbok Sevens squad at the time as one of the 15-man players who were earmarked for the Olympic Games, but his injury derailed those plans.
The 25-year-old made a slow start to the Super Rugby season as he missed the first six Cheetahs games, and hasn’t regained the form that made him a Springbok in 2014. He appears to have a lost a yard of pace since returning from injury, and his work-rate has dropped off as a result.
But the Bok management is set to try and whip him into shape over the next four days in Stellenbosch at the training camp.
The favourite to replace Kolisi in the Bok No 7 jersey, though, should still be Stormers loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who enjoyed a breakthrough season in Super Rugby. Having been on the fringes of the Stormers squad in the past, Notshe was a regular starter and made appearances in all three loose trio positions.
His energy and skill ignited the Stormers and would be a welcome addition to the Bok back row that battled to match the Irish loose forwards in June. Lions duo Warren Whiteley and Jaco Kriel would form a dynamic combination with Notshe – who will also be in Stellenbosch for the camp – for the Rugby Championship.
Tighthead prop Frans Malherbe has surprisingly been invited to the camp as well despite also being ruled out for three months with a neck injury, compared to Kolisi, who has not been called up.
The readiness of a number of other injured players from recent weeks will also be determined during the camp, so Bok coach Allister Coetzee will have finality on the likes of Patrick Lambie (concussion), Jan Serfontein (wrist) and Trevor Nyakane (ankle), while long-term absentee Handré Pollard will also make the trip to the Western Cape.
The most critical of that group is Lambie, who has been sidelined since the first Ireland Test when CJ Stander took him out in the air. Lambie tried to return for the Sharks for their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes, but coach Gary Gold stated two weeks ago that his captain was still experiencing “symptoms” from the concussion.
Elton Jantjies has been in excellent form for the Lions and should claim the Bok No 10 jersey for the Rugby Championship, but Coetzee will have a dilemma should Lambie not be ready to play. Morné Steyn was selected as back-up to Jantjies against Ireland, but Coetzee may also consider someone like Johan Goosen, who has reportedly been outstanding for Racing Metro in France.
However, Goosen has been operating mainly at outside centre and occasionally fullback, while the other flyhalf possibility, Garth April, has struggled at the Sharks since his nightmare outing for South Africa A against England Saxons in Bloemfontein in June.
Stormers hookers Bongi Mbonambi and Scarra Ntubeni were both part of the Bok squad in June, but weren’t called up for the training camp, which might open the door for Lions hooker Malcolm Marx.
Bok coach Coetzee said in a statement that no Lions players – they leave for Wellington on Sunday afternoon for next weekend’s Super Rugby final against the Hurricanes – or overseas-based players were considered for the Stellenbosch training camp.
The Bok squad for the Rugby Championship will be announced on Saturday after the Super Rugby final. “We will use the four days (in Stellenbosch) to spend some time on our fundamentals, continued rehabilitation and conditioning of this group of players,” Coetzee said.
“Our management will be working hard during these four days, and it will give us a good indication of the progress of those players who have recovered from injury, or those currently battling with niggles.”
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Springbok Training Squad
Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Jesse Kriel, Patrick Lambie, Frans Malherbe, Teboho Mohoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Rudy Paige, Handré Pollard, Jan Serfontein, Adriaan Strauss.