The Springboks’ 2026 season is beginning to come into sharp focus after the recent confirmation of all fixtures for the year, while some internal training camps will begin to take place in the not too distant future.
It’s a blockbuster schedule that will see the Springboks face every Six Nations team this year, while there is also the four-Test series against the All Blacks to look forward to.
Knowing the importance of this season, one year away from the World Cup title defence, the Springbok coaches will be keeping a close eye on players who are desperately in need of some game time.
Two Springbok World Cup hopefuls contending with an injury cloud
For Rassie Erasmus and his medical staff, there will be some understandable concern that veteran prop Frans Malherbe is now approaching a full year out of the game due to a serious back injury.
Early last year, Steven Kitshoff was forced into retirement due to a neck injury, and there have been understandable concerns that a sensitive injury could lead to the same fate for Malherbe considering the nature of his position in the front row.
Recent updates from the Stormers have indicated that they are still hopeful that the burly prop will be able to return to action later this season, but it remains a fluid situation that requires constant monitoring.
It also can’t be overlooked that Malherbe is about to turn 35 years old, and it now remains to be seen if he is able to truly get back to the fitness and form levels required to book a place in the World Cup squad.
Another case to monitor
Meanwhile, talented loose forward Cameron Hanekom is at a different stage of his career, with the 23-year-old still looking forward to a long future in the game.
However, the one-cap Springbok has been battling with a complicated rehabilitation period for a severe hamstring tendon tear that has kept him sidelined for the better portion of the last year.
It was really hoped that Hanekom would be able to break through to receive more regular playing time for the Springboks this season in order to put him in the selection mix for the World Cup, but he now needs to navigate the final few months of recovery before a return to play will even be possible.
“It’s literally a week-to-week case with Cameron, but I can’t give an indication of when we expect him to be fit,” Bulls coach Johan Ackermann told Netwerk24 just this week.
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