THE Springboks suspended training for the second time in just over a week after another member of their squad tested positive for Covid-19.
The entire squad went into what was called “preventative isolation” after Lood de Jaeger returned a positive test.
Not all of the players were deemed to have been close contacts of the second-row forward, but the world champions’ management decided that it was better for all of them to self-isolate pending more tests.
A statement published on the South Africans’ website only said that training had been suspended for that day, but a resumption clearly depends on the outcome of those further tests, as well as on a review of the test data by the governing body’s medical advisory group.
The statement promised an update once the tests and review were complete.
The Springboks beat Georgia 40-9 last Friday in their first match since they won the Rugby World Cup final at the end of 2019, and are due to meet the same opponents again this Friday.
Last week’s game was placed in doubt for a while after three players tested positive - Herschel Jantjies, Vincent Koch and Sbu Nkosi.
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But it went ahead when further tests appeared to suggest there was no wider coronavirus problem in the squad, and Jantjies was a substitute in the game after he subsequently tested negative.
This Friday’s fixture against the Georgians at Ellis Park in Johannesburg is the last due to be played by the South Africans before the three-Test series against the Lions begins on 24 July in Cape Town.
If they are unable to fulfil the fixture, Jacques Nienaber’s squad will go into those three games against the Lions seriously short of match practice.
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