Pienaar out of Springboks tour of Europe
London (AFP) - Ruan Pienaar was ruled out of South Africa's tour of Europe on Tuesday, ahead of their opening international against Ireland, after failing to recover in time from a knee ligament problem.
Pienaar, who knows European rugby well from his time with Irish province Ulster, suffered the injury playing for the Springboks in their 14-10 defeat by New Zealand in Wellington in September and has been sidelined since that match.
The 30-year-old scrum-half, a veteran of 80 Tests, will be replaced in South Africa's squad by Jano Vermaak.
"Ruan was re-assessed on Tuesday morning following the on-field fitness tests from Monday, and unfortunately he has developed some swelling and puffiness around the knee, indicating that he is not yet ready to partake in full training and playing in a match,? said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts in a statement issued by team management in Dublin, where South Africa play Ireland at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
"He needs a few more weeks of rehabilitation before he'll be ready to return to play and hence we?ve taken the decision to rule him out of the tour.?
South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer said losing Pienaar for the tour was a setback.
"We?ll miss his experience, especially when it comes to playing rugby in the Northern Hemisphere, but luckily Jano knows our structures and should not have a problem to slot back in,? Meyer said.
"The decision to bring in Jano was because he is familiar with our structures and is also very experienced, especially since Cobus Reinach is still in his first season of Test rugby.
"There are a number of good young scrum-halves in South Africa, but to bring someone in who has not yet trained with us in a pivotal position such as scrum-half would've been a risk.?
Vermaak, who played in three Tests in 2013, was due to join the Springbok squad by Wednesday.
In Pienaar's absence, Francois Hougaard has started at scrum-half in South Africa's last two Tests, which saw the Springboks enjoy home wins over both Australia (28-10 in Cape Town in September) and the world champion All Blacks (27-25 in Johannesburg in October).
After the Ireland match, the Springboks play 2015 World Cup hosts England at Twickenham (November 15) and Italy in Padova (November 22) before rounding off their tour against Wales at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on November 29.
