Cape Town - The Springbok camp has been rocked by the forced withdrawal of scrumhalf Rudy Paige ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Durban.
Paige left the field in the past weekend’s welcome 18-10 victory over the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where he made his first Test start after playing four games off the bench previously and receiving limited game time.
But the Bulls halfback made a considerable impact on his home ground, carrying out his basic duties with aplomb as he cleared the ball quickly from the rucks and hardly made errors throughout the 57 minutes he was on the field.
Paige’s passing game is his biggest strength, but he also never shied away from his defensive duties as he made his required tackles and helped organise things around the fringes of the rucks.
His slick service ensured that flyhalf Morné Steyn and the rest of the backline had a few extra seconds on attack or to clear their lines, while Paige also made sound decisions and showed great composure on such a big occasion for him.
The Boks were under enormous pressure to pull off a win, and the personal emotion overflowed for Paige as tears welled up in his eyes during the national anthem. But he justified his selection and could’ve confidently expected to don the No 9 jersey against the world champions at Kings Park this weekend.
But now it’s not to be after Paige was struck by a knee from replacement Wallaby lock Kane Douglas, who had gone in recklessly in trying to compete for a turnover on the ground. Douglas had charged in with Paige – who had possession of the ball – on the floor, and slammed his knee into Paige’s head.
The Australian second-rower was fortunate to escape immediate censure from English referee Wayne Barnes or to be cited afterwards for dangerous play. Paige stood up looking the worse for wear, and didn’t return to the action.
Bulls teammate Piet van Zyl – who has two Test caps earned in 2013 against Scotland and Samoa – has been called up as a replacement for Paige.
“Latest from the Bok camp: @paige_rudy out with concussion, Piet van Zyl will join the squad in Durban as replacement. More to follow later,” was all that was posted on the @Springboks Twitter handle on Monday afternoon.
Van Zyl has been in good form for the Bulls in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup, but Bok coach Allister Coetzee is likely to reinstate Faf de Klerk as the starting scrumhalf after he was dropped for the Wallaby Test following a couple of error-ridden performances, even though Francois Hougaard could be the best solution at No 9.
Hougaard also impressed at left wing at Loftus, and with injuries to Ruan Combrinck, JP Pietersen, Seabelo Senatla and Courtnall Skosan, there aren’t many options available to Coetzee.
Willie le Roux filled in at wing against Australia when Hougaard moved to scrumhalf for the injured Paige, but Le Roux is the back-up fullback and hasn’t played at wing for quite a long time after making his Test debut in that position.
Apart from Paige, there wasn’t any immediate decision yet on the fitness of Bryan Habana (thigh), Jesse Kriel (groin) and Pieter-Steph du Toit (hip) on Monday, with Bok team doctor Jerome Mampane stating on Sunday that the trio would all be assessed during the week.
Kriel, though, was the most serious injury case along with Paige from the Wallaby game, and it would be a surprise if he was fit to face the All Blacks.
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Independent Media