Erasmus worried over Mostert ankle scan ahead of Nations Championship opener against England

Rassie Erasmus has expressed concern over Franco Mostert’s ankle after the Springbok lock was forced off during South Africa’s 80-31 victory over the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.

“I’m worried about his ankle,” Erasmus said. “He’ll go for scans tomorrow, so hopefully it’s not too bad.” The injury compounds an already sizeable casualty list for the Springboks, who face England in their Nations Championship opener in two weeks.

South Africa ran in 12 tries against a Barbarians side assembled at short notice with only three training sessions together, but the performance was far from flawless. The Boks conceded four tries and collected yellow cards — defensive lapses that Erasmus acknowledged will need to be addressed before the tournament begins.

“Our discipline wasn’t great, and they scored tries in quick succession, so yellow cards were not ideal,” the head coach said. He was also careful not to read too much into the 80-point haul. “To score 80 points is nice, but the Barbarians were thrown together quite late and had only three training sessions, which makes them difficult to analyse. They scored four or five great tries, so we need to eliminate those defensive lapses and be better as a unit when we play against England.”

Erasmus offered context for the rustiness on show, noting that several players were new to the squad environment and that the availability of franchise players from the Stormers and Bulls had been uncertain in the build-up. “We have to remind ourselves that it’s been six or seven months since we’ve played together, and some guys were new in the mix,” he said.

With the Nations Championship fast approaching, the Springboks will hope Mostert’s scans return positive news. The lock is a key figure in South Africa’s forward pack, and losing him for any significant period would be a notable blow to the world champions’ preparations.