Lewies in, Beast and Flip out

Stephan Lewies has been called up to the Springbok squad to face Scotland, while Tendai Mtawarira and Flip van der Merwe have been ruled out.

Lewies, the Sharks lock, has been drafted in as cover having previously been a member of the wider training group. He will be joined by his provincial teammate, prop Lourens Adriaanse, who made his debut for the Boks from the bench against France last season.

Mtawarira (neck) and Van der Merwe (knee) will return to their franchises this week where they will undergo further examination.

'Tendai has a bulging disc in his neck and he will consult with a specialist in Durban as soon as possible,' said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts. 'Flip hyper-extended his knee in a tackle and scans confirmed our clinical suspicions of a posterior cruciate injury. He will consult a knee specialist in Pretoria later on Tuesday.'

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer claimed that the Sharks duo were the obvious replacements, having proven themselves at Super Rugby level for the Sharks this season.

'Lourens has been with us before and I’m sure he will slot back in easily,' said Meyer. 'Stephan was part of our training squad in Durban at the end of last month. He arrived in Port Elizabeth earlier today and looked good at our afternoon training session. He has been very good in Super Rugby this year and deserves this opportunity.'

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images