South Africa prop Ox Nche has been ruled out of the Springboks’ current tour to Europe and the UK after picking up an injury in the team’s 61-7 win over Japan in London on Saturday.
Nche has been replaced in the squad by Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who happened to already be in London to play for the Barbarians against a New Zealand XV at Twickenham.
“We feel for Ox, and we wish him all the best with his injury and recovery,” said head coach Rassie Erasmus of Nche, who returned to South Africa on Sunday.
“It’s always tough to lose a player of his calibre, but Asenathi is a capped Springbok and he has been with us for a large part of the season, so he is familiar with our structures and systems.
“Adding to that, he was on our standby list for the tour, so there was always a chance he would be called up if we suffered an injury.
“Fortunately, he was in London already, so he arrived at the team hotel this morning and will be able to slot back into action immediately, which is fantastic for us.”
The Boks next play France on their five-match tour of Europe, on Saturday Nov. 8 at Stade de France, and arrived in Paris on Sunday for a week of preparations.
