Ian Foster said the All Blacks’ thoughts were with Springbok captain Eben Etzebeth after his father died in the lead-up to the clash between the teams on Saturday.
Etzebeth’s father Harry died on Tuesday night and it remains to be seen if the lock will play on the weekend in the Rugby Championship or fly home to South Africa.
An SA Rugby official told AFP that Etzebeth was “very emotional at the moment as he was extremely close to his father”. The Boks will leave it up to him whether he plays this week.
RG Snyman could be promoted from the bench if Etzebeth drops out.
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Should Etzebeth decide to play for the World Cup title-holders it will be his first match since suffering a shoulder injury three months ago.
Foster said the Boks will field a strong side at Mount Smart Stadium regardless, based on their 43-12 hammering of Australia in Pretoria last Saturday.
“We haven’t really thought about the impact, but they have got a lot of quality players,” he said. “We saw that last week and I’m sure they will adapt and adjust, but right now our thoughts go out to him as a person.
“It’s tragic news for him. I’m sure they will deal with it in the right way.”
© Agence France-Presse
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