LONDON (Reuters) -South Africa have included experienced lock Lood de Jager in their squad for their decisive Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday after Franco Mostert did not travel with the group due to a family bereavement.
De Jager was injured in the record 43-10 victory over New Zealand in Wellington this month, but has been passed fit to play. Coach Rassie Erasmus will name his team on Tuesday.
"We all feel deeply for Franco and wish him strength during this challenging time, and we’ll support him as well as we can," Erasmus said.
"Fortunately, Lood has recovered from his injury, and his experience and leadership will be valuable in such an important week for the team."
Defending champions South Africa are in pole position as they seek to retain the Rugby Championship title.
Their bonus-point 67-30 win over Argentina in Durban on Saturday put them on 15 points at the top of the table, followed by New Zealand (14, Australia (11) and their South American opponents (9), who are out of the running.
Australia and New Zealand meet in Perth earlier on Saturday, after which the Springboks will know exactly what is required to win the competition.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
