Springbok lock, who many rate as South Africa's World Cup star, is still in major doubt for the semifinal against New Zealand despite being named in Heyneke Meyer's lineup.
A South African report says Lood de Jager's foot tendon injury is still a major concern, and he will need topass a fitness test at Saturday's captain's run. Veteran lineout ace Victor Matfield has been named on the reserves bench, but it seems there is still a real chance he will start against the All Blacks at Twickenham.
Longtime South African rugby writer Brenden Nel told SuperSport readers that "much uncertainty still remains" over de Jager's fitness. If Matfield is promoted, the 23-year-old, eight-test Pieter-Steph du Toit would join the reserves.
Meyer has praised Matfield's team ethos and said he could be vital in the final quarter.
"If you look at the last few games, the All Blacks are brilliant at the end, we've had a young bench and it makes a big difference to us to have a great player and a great leader there at the end."
Meyer said the Springboks had progressed since losing to a late Richie McCaw try in Johannesburg this year.
"I wasn't happy with our fitness levels right from the start. We probably overtrained in the Rugby Championship and there were a lot of games where we were ahead that we couldn't finish."
