Springbok flank Arno Botha enjoyed a scant four minutes of action in his second test appearance on Saturday, before twisting his knee horribly in a freak “stepping accident”.
Scans have now confirmed the worst for the 21-year-old, who hails from Modimolle and plays his provincial rugby for the Bulls, being snapped up after an amazing Craven Week for the unfancied Limpopo side. Botha damaged both the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee and will require surgery, as well as at least 6 months of rehabilitation, before a return to the rugby field.
In short, his 2013 season is over and Bok fans will need to wait until 2014, at the earliest, to see the dynamic Botha in action in the green and gold again.
According to Rugby365, coach Heyneke Meyer is unlikely to call up a replacement for Botha ahead of Saturday’s test against Samoa at Loftus Versveld. Both Willem Alberts and Francois Louw look to be back in the selection frame this weekend, with Siya Kolisi, Marcell Coetzee, Pierre Spies and the uncapped Pieter Labuschagne providing further back-row options.
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I feel really sorry for the ouke. Seems to be a great player.
@R Hayward (Comment 1) : hey hey…. someone else who isn’t having a public holiday 🙂 Or are you just checking in?
@robdylan (Comment 2) : No holiday in Nam! Normal working Monday!
@R Hayward (Comment 3) : ditto in the UK. We never have holidays 🙁
@robdylan (Comment 4) : Someone has to keep the world economy going.
@McLovin (Comment 5) : true that.
Shucks, I hope they’re not expecting it to be me?
Yes leke lazx Monday, don’t over do the work thing guys!!!! It’s leke to live in ZA.
@JD (Comment 7) : Enjoy it!
In Germany, if a holiday falls on the weekend it’s tough shit. No carrying over. But, on the other hand, Germans have 30 days paid annual leave so they hardly miss any off-time anyway.
@rhineshark (Comment 8) : WOW…. that’s nice.
We get 20
But that pitch wasn’t the best, 2 major knee injuries
@robdylan (Comment 9) : Very nice. That’s why Majorca and Tenerife have Germans reserving pool chairs with their towels on a year-round basis.
@robdylan (Comment 4) : Same goes for Thailand but luckily my working day is over. 😉
@Ben (Comment 12) : What’s it like living in Thailand? Besides the awesome food and lady boys, of course… 😀
Unbelievably hot and humid but it’s awesome!
@robdylan (Comment 9) :
You might get 20… I get the full 30. With an option to purchase another 5 every year…
@Ben (Comment 14) :
Bangkok?
My dream is to move out east. That or the east coast of Africa; whichever happens first!
@Ben (Comment 14) : That’s what I thought! 😎
@VinChainSaw (Comment 16) : About 150 kilometers from Bangkok.
@Ben (Comment 18) :
Youre in Pattaya, arent you?
Hahaha nope. I’m in Lop Buri
@Ben (Comment 20) : Lop Buri is Monkey City. Bloody monkey stole my Coke today! 😆
@Ben (Comment 20) :
Nice, but what do you do out there?
Busy planning my fifth Thailand trip later this year.
That place really pulls you in, repeatedly! Doesnt help that it seems to be a favourite for my Aussie/Kiwi mates to get married in.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 22) : I’m teaching mate. Wonderful experience.
@Ben (Comment 23) : I want to retire there and just surf all day.
@Ben (Comment 23) :
I can quite imagine mate. Lovely people; beautiful country. The thing with SE Asia is that you need to get off the tourist trail to give the country a fair shake.
Spending a couple of weeks in Phuket is not really representative of Thailand unfortunately.
@rhineshark (Comment 24) :
Reckon you’ll need to go to Indonesia for that mate. Thats the only place in Asia Ive ever seen waves.
@rhineshark (Comment 24) :
You planning on staying there?
@rhineshark (Comment 24) : @VinChainSaw (Comment 26) : Yeah Vinnie that’s correct. No waves here…
@VinChainSaw (Comment 25) : 100% correct. Phuket is far from what Thailand is all about….
Must say I don’t know alot about live in Asia and Europe but I do think loose trio looked better when Kolisi came on.
Oh shame man, poor guy, he had a really great run last week against the italians and I was looking forward to seeing him in against the scots although I think kolisi didn’t have a bad run
@VinChainSaw (Comment 26) : Indonesia is too crowded. You guys never heard of Kamala Beach or Pakarang Point in Khao Lak? Phuket is way too touristy, but also has plenty of surf. Not word-class, but good enough, especially during the monsoon season.
@VinChainSaw (Comment 27) : Still deciding where to go. I like Spain and France, but places like Thailand or Bali has my kind of food. 😉
@rhineshark (Comment 33) : “have” 😳
Been in Germany too long….