On the weekend, Nche sustained a cut above his knee during the 29-20 win against England in London.

The coach, Rassie Erasmus, confirmed on Saturday that it was not a knee injury and only a cut, so there was no cause for concern. In the same breath, Erasmus added that they will not risk the player tearing his stitches by fielding him against the Welsh.

‘Ox got a cut above his knee, but he has recovered well’

They do have Gerhard Steenekamp who was a backup to Nche on the weekend, albeit, he was unfortunately to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time when the referee issued him a yellow card following repeated team infringements at the lineout. Thomas du Toit in turn started at loosehead prop against Wales in Bloemfontein in 2022.

While the Springbok won’t risk fielding Nche against the under-pressure Wales, the Forward Coach, Deon Davids, said the former Cheetah has recovered well and has been training with the team in the lead-up to the Test.

“Ox got a cut above his knee, but he has recovered well,” said Davids. “He went to the gym this morning and he, like any of the other players, is available for selection.

“There are a couple of guys with bumps and bruises in the squad, but not a lot of concerns for us at this stage.”

Steenekamp, in turn, could earn a start this weekend and admitted that he is still living the dream by being on a first end-of-year tour. The mobile prop added that he looks up to Nche and just wants to learn as much as he can from the cake-loving front-rower.

‘Hopefully, I can follow in his tracks’

“His mentorship role has definitely been very big – I’ve learnt a lot from him, and I’m still learning a lot from him every day,” said Steenekamp.

“It’s a massive honour for me to train with someone like that, and to play with him. I’m trying to learn as much as I can from him and I look up to him. Hopefully, I can follow in his tracks.”

Saturday’s Test between Wales and the Springboks at the Millennium Stadium kicks off at 19:40.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg