Schalk Brits was sipping tequila in Ibiza when he first received contact from South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus asking whether he was interested in playing England. Brits has unexpectedly been called into the Springboks' squad for the remaining two Tests of a series that started with a mesmerising 42-39 victory at Ellis Park and continues in Bloemfontein and Cape Town. "I met them at Montecasino and went straight from there to the airport to join the Springboks," he said. "There's been a lot of shuffling of the deck of cards for the last couple of days to make it all happen and thankfully it's all worked out. "A lot of people had to make a lot of sacrifices for this to happen so I'm really grateful to them all and I am so delighted to be in this squad whether I play or don't play."

Source: Evening echo June 12, 2018 21:33 UTC