De Jager returns for Wild Knights as Kolbe bows out of Japan Rugby League One

Lood de Jager will make his long-awaited return to action for Saitama Wild Knights in Saturday’s Japan Rugby League One third-place playoff against Tokyo Sungoliath, offering Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus a timely boost amid a mounting injury crisis in his squad. The 33-year-old lock has been named to start in what will be his 41st appearance for the Wild Knights.

De Jager has not played since receiving a red card for a dangerous tackle during South Africa’s victory over France in Paris in early November. A four-match ban was followed by surgery on a troublesome hip, keeping him sidelined for the remainder of the season until now. He will continue his association with the Wild Knights next season.

The same fixture doubles as a farewell for Cheslin Kolbe, who ends a three-season stint with Sungoliath on Saturday. The Springbok winger has been the competition’s standout performer this term, amassing 218 points and 10 tries in the current campaign alone. His 44th and final appearance for the Fuchu-based club brings his overall tally to 23 tries and 321 points across his time in Japan.

Kolbe finishes as the league’s leading point-scorer this season, 24 points clear of BlackRams Tokyo flyhalf Ichigo Nakakusu and 37 ahead of Kubota Spears pivot Bernard Foley in third. Sungoliath will be looking to end a nine-game losing streak against the Wild Knights, which would also represent an improvement on their quarterfinal exit from last season.

Elsewhere in the Springbok injury picture, there is no fresh update on hooker Malcolm Marx, who did not return for the second half of Kubota’s 26-24 semi-final win over the Wild Knights after sustaining a bicep injury. The reigning World Rugby Player of the Year is considered unlikely to feature when Kubota’s squad is announced ahead of Sunday’s championship final against Kobelco Kobe Steelers.