Pollard has been ruled out of the tournament due to a calf injury that he re-aggravated while playing for his English Premiership club, Leicester.

The good news for the Springboks is that the Stormers playmaker, Damian Willemse, has been declared fit for the Championship.

The Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, confirmed that Pollard is their only major injury concern, apart from the captain Siya Kolisi, who is still recovering, albeit he is in camp with the team.

“Handré is a bit of a worry,” said Erasmus about the flyhalf situation within the Bok camp.

“It's a tricky situation because it's a calf injury that he's re-injured. A re-injury always has us a bit more nervous.

“We want Handré to recover fully because you don't want to push him too early. His timeframe is now like Siya Kolisi, we are hoping their both return either against Argentina in South America or the Wales and New Zealand warm-ups.

“When you only have two flyhalves in your group, you tend to put undue pressure on the guy who's injured.”

Next week Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 17:05.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport