Gurthro Steenkamp out of South Africa tour
South Africa prop Gurthro Steenkamp has been ruled out of the country's tour of Europe after breaking his right arm.
The Blue Bulls player suffered the injury while playing for the Bulls in the Super 15 league. It's unlikely that he will feature in any form of rugby until after winter.
"He broke one of the two pipes in his arm and we are waiting for news on the other one. I suspect it is broken as well," said Blue Bulls team doctor Org Strauss.
This is very bad news for South Africa coach Peter de Villiers because Steenkamp is such an influential player in his position. The coach will be hard pushed to find a similar prop at short notice.
A big blow
This is a big blow because Steenkamp is one of the bigger and stronger members of the South African team. He is placed in the heart of the defence and is very intimidating to play against. His tackling
and authority on any pitch is superb.
His size and power means he adds a lot of weight to the pack. This will now be lost and South Africa will be vulnerable in scrums against bigger European teams. The Springboks will not be able to push
up the field as easily.
Steenkamp is very good at offloading the ball in busy and confined spaces. This is vital when South Africa is looking to counter attack and get all of the pressure away from the defence of the team.
De Villiers now faces a real selection problem as Bath's Butch James, Fourie du Preez and Heinrich Brussow have also been ruled out of the tour to Europe. It means the coach may have to go for a little
more youth and less experience than desired.
Betting advice
There is no such thing as a bad South African team. De Villiers will not have his first choice 15 to choose from but the Springboks are good enough to win any game they play. Keep in mind that replacement
players will be trying extra hard to make an impression.
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