Springboks blow: Handre Pollard ruled out of second All Blacks Test – report
Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard and an inset of head coach Rassie Erasmus
The Springboks will reportedly be without the services of Handre Pollard for the second Test against the All Blacks.
Rassie Erasmus named the veteran fly-half in the starting XV for the second Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test, taking over the number 10 shirt from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for the meeting in Cape Town.
Handre Pollard ruled out?
However, according to Netwerk24, the double Rugby World Cup winner has sustained a calf injury in training, which is set to rule him out of the fixture in the Mother City.
If true, Erasmus will likely turn to either Manie Libbok or Feinberg-Mngomezulu to start in the number 10 jersey, with the latter doing so in the series opener in Johannesburg, a match in which the former came off the bench.
The veteran playmaker is renowned for a more conservative approach on attack, perhaps better suited to the gloomy conditions that are expected in the Mother City on Saturday.
However, both Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu have plenty of experience with those conditions, having both played for the Stormers. They have also produced strong results when starting at fly-half against the All Blacks, with Libbok masterminding the 35-7 victory over New Zealand at Twickenham in 2023 while Feinberg-Mngomezulu has lost just one Test when starting at fly-half for the Boks.
The reports of Pollard’s unavailability come after Erasmus confirmed that captain Siya Kolisi will be fit to captain the side in the second Test. The inspirational skipper was named in the starting XV on Monday but was bracketed along with Paul de Villiers, with Kolisi needing to get through the early parts of the week’s training.
Having done so, he will start in a back row that features Jasper Wiese and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who earns his 100th Test cap for South Africa. It will be the 17th time that the trio has started a match for the Boks together, equalling the all-time record set by Francois Louw, Willem Alberts and Duane Vermeulen.
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Current Springboks team for Test II
Springboks: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Date: Saturday, 29 August, 2026
Kick-off: 17:10 (local SAST), 16:10 (UK), 17:10 (France), 17:10 (South Africa), 01:10 (23 August, AEST), 03:10 (23 August, New Zealand), 12:10 (Argentina), 00:10 (23 August, JST), 11:10 (EDT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
