The Springbok flyhalf, Handré Pollard, could be set to receive a call to head over to France in order to play in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Pollard missed out on selection for the global showpiece after not recovering in time from an injury he picked up in May.

The 2019 World Cup winner is officially on standby for the tournament but on Friday night he will be in action for his club, Leicester Tigers and the Sale Sharks.

On Wednesday the hooker, Malcolm Marx, sustained a long-term knee injury during training and this has ruled him out of the remainder of the World Cup. The Boks already have Bongi Mbonambi and Deon Fourie in camp, while they have indicated that the blindside flanker, Marco van Staden, is being primed to play at hooker.

The Springbok coach, Jacques Nienaber, indicated that they will be keeping an eye on Pollard’s performance for Leicester. 

“We are watching all our ‘ready-to-go’ players who were injured,” said Nienaber.

“So, we’ve been keeping an eye on Handré Pollard and Lukhanyo Am. Lood de Jager is a little further off in his recovery.

“We will definitely have a look at the Leicester game - I think Handré is in the mix.”

The Springboks are between a rock and a hard place at the moment regarding the flyhalf role. Manie Libbok has been outstanding at the backline marshal, but his kicking off the tee has been a concern since before the World Cup started.

Pollard on the other hand is as reliable with the boot as they come, however, he is certainly not in the same league as Libbok regarding the attack.

For the match against Romania in Bordeaux on Sunday, Damian Willemse, will start as the pivot, while Faf de Klerk will serve as backup in the position.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport