Du Preez: ‘Probably my last game’

Editor

Fourie du Preez conceded that he would not be fit to play in South Africa's bronze final next Friday after losing at Twickenham to New Zealand.

Should that be the case then Du Preez said he has "probably" played his last game for his country.

The Springbok captain and scrum-half clearly suffered a serious injury to his face during the Rugby World Cup semi-final, with the 33-year-old revealing the extent of the damage afterwards.

“I have got a broken tooth and I will be getting a check on my cheekbone [on Sunday], but they don’t think it’s broken," he said.

"To be 100 per cent honest, I haven't thought about [the Bronze final] and I'm not going to think about it tonight.

"I don't know if that was my last game, I'll see how the injury goes.

"It probably was. That was probably my last game."

Assessing where the game was won and lost Du Preez admitted the narrow margin on the scoreboard was tough to take.

"It’s a bit emotional and hard to take. One lineout, one penalty, one conversion, that’s all the difference was," he added.

"But I am immensely proud of everybody for the way we pulled ourselves together (after losing to Japan in opening group match).

"That Japan game is part of where we are now. After that everybody stood up.

"It was so close and the margins are so small, so there is a lot of disappointment. We had an opportunity and we didn’t take it."