COENIE OOSTHUIZEN HAS been ruled out of the remainder of South Africa’s tour of Europe after the prop suffered a knee injury during the Springboks’ record 38-3 defeat by Ireland last night.
Oosthuizen was on the field for a mere 60 seconds at the Aviva Stadium before a thumping hit by Johnny Sexton and debutant Bundee Aki forced him with what appeared to be a twisted knee.
A South Africa Rugby statement issued today said Oosthuizen would first undergo a scan in Dublin before flying home to Durban. It added a decision on his replacement would be made shortly.
Springbok loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit sustained concussion in the closing minutes of the match and will be managed accordingly in the coming week, with Allisteer Coetzee’s side heading to Paris to face France next weekend.
Speaking after yesterday’s defeat in Dublin, Coetzee — now facing huge pressure — said he would wait to decide on whether he needs to make changes for next week.
“Actually one has to go and have a look again, and see whether there would be value-added to the team to make those changes,” he explained.
“Oosthuizen is a big loss for us at tighthead. The big thing is we’ve got to improve at scrum time, the tactical approach has to change, we’ve got to improve there, build on that and the big thing is our discipline.
“The second try only came in the 71st minute. I thought the 20 minutes after half-time there was a momentum shift. But I have to have a look and see, those players who can add value to the team.”
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