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PARIS - South Africa's squad have all been given a clean of bill of health for Sunday's rugby World Cup semifinal against Argentina after initial fears some players may be in doubt for the match.
Openside flanker Juan Smith was the only member of the 30-man squad to sit out Wednesday's training session at Noisy-le-Grand in Paris but says he is in no danger of missing the game.
"I got a bump on my quad, but I'll be back on Friday," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"It's going to be an awesome game, especially for most of our young guys. It's going to be their first semifinal at a World Cup."
Tighthead prop CJ van der Linde and reserve hooker Bismarck du Plessis have also been cleared to play after missing last weekend's bruising quarterfinal win over Fiji.
South Africa coach Jake White gave them an extra week off to recover from injuries to keep them fresh for what is likely to be a torrid encounter with the massive Argentine pack.
"Both CJ and Bismarck are now on the way to full recovery and will be ready to play in the semifinal," said White.
"We decided against using them in the quarterfinal as it was too risky.
"We saw how playing injured players can have a negative impact in some of the other quarter-finals, and in the end I faced a difficult situation where either way I might lose.
"If we had lost the game people would have said I should have risked them. If I had played them and we lost because they were not 100 per cent, then I would also have been blamed."
Number eight Danie Rossouw also resumed training after being hit in a high tackle from Fijian first five-eighth Seremaia Bai, who was later suspended for one match.
"We played three times against island teams and every time was a physical battle and Argentina is the same," Rossouw said.
"They play with a lot of passion, they are very physical and we are expecting that on the day. We must be ready for that."
Even the little men are expecting a tough, physical battle with South Africa's combative halfback Fourie du Preez preparing for a rugged encounter with his opponent, Pumas skipper Agustin Pichot.
"He is very much the same as Ricky (Januarie) when he plays, quite irritating, he's always there trying to upset you and obviously he wants to direct his team as he is their leader," du Preez said.
"He is one of those halves that are in your face the whole time and it is difficult to play against a halfback like that."
- REUTERS
