Cape Town - He probably would have made his Springbok debut against the All Blacks in Christchurch, but injury hasn’t been Sikhumbuzo Notshe’s best friend in recent weeks.
The fleet-footed Western Province loose forward was named in the Bok squad for the Rugby Championship, but was allowed to play for his union after not making the match-day side for the double round of Tests against Argentina, and the tour group for the trip Down Under.
But when lock Lood de Jager was sidelined during the Wallaby game in Brisbane, Bok coach Allister Coetzee called up Willem Alberts as an extra loose forward as Notshe and long-term injury victim Siya Kolisi weren’t ready to play.
Notshe had picked up an ankle problem in WP’s 34-27 win over the Sharks on September 3, just a week before the Australia Test. With Kolisi out for the rest of the season, Notshe was the next-in-line, and may have played off the bench against New Zealand like Alberts was.
But it was not to be for the 23-year-old, who has been in fine form this year for both the Stormers and Province. Notshe, though, is confident that he can be back on the field in time for the Currie Cup semi-finals, with WP needing to beat Boland at Newlands on Friday (7pm kickoff) with a four-try bonus point to guarantee their place in the last-four.
“Two weeks, and then I’ll be back, hopefully. I tweaked my syndesmosis (joint) in my ankle, and then I went to the doc and he said I’m out for two weeks in the moon boot and let’s reassess after that. But I can walk,” Notshe said on the sidelines of a Currie Cup scholarship visit to Steenberg High on Monday.
“If the boys go past this weekend (against Boland) – obviously they did well this past weekend (beating Griquas 52-31 in Kimberley). It was a bit scary in the first 40, but they managed to get things happening. And hopefully if everything goes well in terms of us making the semis, then I can be on the field as soon as possible.”
While Province coach John Dobson would welcome him back with open arms, Notshe knows he needs to get back on to the field if he wants to be considered for the Springbok tour to Europe in November.
And the Currie Cup playoffs are the only matches available where he can prove his fitness. “It’s frustrating being out, I must say – especially when you think you are probably knocking at the Springbok door, and obviously it doesn’t happen,” Notshe said.
“Then you have to sit back again. But it’s the nature of the game. These things test you mentally, it’s part of the game and the culture of the game, and it always happens. But it’s about how I bounce back.”
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