The Namibian international hooker, Torsten van Jaarsveld, has been given the all clear to resume training.

The fiery player has been out of action since June, after injuring his neck while representing Namibia in the World Rugby Nations Cup against Uruguay.

On top of that the hooking department has received a further boost with the versatile Elandré Huggett also receiving the green light to resume training.

Both of these players will take part in the team training on Tuesday, and this was confirmed by Van Jaarsveld.

“We have both been cleared, but will only start training tomorrow.”

While the two players have been missed, the stand-ins, Jacques du Toit, Joseph Dweba and Reinach Venter, have all stood their man and been impressive, the news is good for the side.

As is the case with the loose-forwards in the squad, it’s a department which has tremendous depth and is very competitive.

The coach, Rory Duncan, says that they are delighted to have this depth and competitiveness in the department.

“We’re fortunate to have that competition at hooker. We’ve got Jacques in the starting line-up. We’ve got Joseph who comes on every week and makes an impact.

“Torsten has been cleared, and Huggy has been cleared as well.

“Jacques is obviously fighting for his spot in the team. He’s accuracy in the lineouts is an aspect which makes him stand out and from scrummaging perspective he is also a quality scrummager.”

Apart from Van Jaarsvelds’ general play, the team will also benefit from his natural leadership.

At this stage, it’s too early to tell if Van Jaarsveld or Huggett will earn a sport in the match-22 for the Lions outing, but either could earn their ticket to Belfast for next week’s Pro14 opener against Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport