A possible revamped Springbok squad to take on New Zealand in round four of the Rugby Championship at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday could be on the cards, according to assistant coach, Daan Human. 

Captain Siya Kolisi suffered a cheekbone after he collided with loose forward Sam Cane and Kurt-Lee Arendse also had to be taken off, which is why the Springbok coaching staff have scheduled the squad announcement on Thursday and not on Tuesday as is usually the case. 

They want to give these players sufficient time to be fit just like it was with lock Eben Etzebeth, who was not named in the squad on Tuesday last week for the first test but came through the week and was declared fit by the Boks coaching staff to start on the bench for the Saturday’s clash.  

Human, who addressed the media on Monday following the Springboks gritty 31-27 victory over the All Blacks at Ellis Park over the past weekend, said they’re still assessing their options before naming the team on Thursday morning. 

The clash at Ellis Park was an encounter won in the last 12 minutes by Rassie Erasmus’s men thanks to two late tries by Kwagga Smith, and Grant Williams, which were both converted by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. 

 “We must pick a side that can have a proper match against New Zealand,” Human said.

“There might be a couple of changes, we know our group. I can’t tell you who we’ll pick – because the team hasn’t been picked yet, we are working on that and trying to pick the best side possible. 

 “So far, they are still assessing his availability for us this week,” Human added. 

“We’ll see how he goes through during the week. I think he’s important for us – if he’s unavailable, the next man must come in.” 

The Boks will not in any way enter the second test against the All Blacks with the illusion that it will be an easy ride. Despite not being in their best form, Scott Robertson’s men are capable of staging an upset and pulling off an impressive performance on their day.

After suffering a shock 38-30 defeat against Argentina in round one of the tournament, the All Blacks returned the following week and thumped Los Pumas 42-10. 

Human said they would not underestimate them. “They had a massive comeback after that loss against Argentina and you can always expect that from a quality side like them.

“As I said, they’re a world-class side, we can expect the same coming this week. I think at the moment, we’re concentrating on ourselves, and where we can get better. 

“We must try and always get better on our side. Yes, we must think about the opposition, it is important, and we’ve got a lot of respect for them but at this point, we can’t control their performance, but we can control ours.”