Springbok coach Peter de Villiers will reveal his Tri-Nations squad on Tuesday and it is likely that a few Lions hunters maybe miss the cut.
The Bok squad, for South Africa's home leg of the Tri-Nations, will have fewer than the 30 members that featured in the 2-1 series win against the British and Irish Lions.
Some of those absent when the Boks play New Zealand (in Bloemfontein on July 25 and Durban, August 1), as well as Australia (Cape Town, August 8), will be ruled out through injury and suspension.
Flank Schalk Burger will serve the last few of his eight-week suspension for the facial massage in B&I Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald.
Add to that lock Johan Muller, who will miss the entire Tri-Nations with a fractured arm, and Andries Bekker, knee injury, as well as fullback Zane Kirchner, who is sidelined for four weeks after undergoing surgery for a cheek fracture.
That means De Villiers will only cut two or three players at most, as he reduces the squad to 24 or 25, for the next phase of their international campaign.
The key selection decision will centre on wing and loose forward.
There is little doubt that the same front row forwards - Tendai Mtawarira, Deon Carstens, Gurthrö Steenkamp, John Smit (as captain), Bismarck du Plessis and Chiliboy Ralepelle - are likely to feature again.
The most likely to be cut from this group, should there be a cut in this department, will be Carstens.
The second row, following the injuries of Muller and Bekker - will feature the usual suspects of Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha (back from his controversial two-week suspension) and Danie Rossouw. Steven Sykes will be on standby, but unlikely to feature in the squad.
Burger's suspension leaves Pierre Spies, Ryan Kankowski, Juan Smith and Heinrich Brüssow as the remaining loose forwards. With Rossouw as a utility - lock and loose forward - it will be interesting to see if there's still a place for Kankowski, who by all accounts was disappointing in the third Test against the Lions.
The halfback combination will consist of Morné Steyn, Ruan Pienaar and Fourie du Preez. Ricky Januarie will be the man on standby, with Pienaar able to cover both flyhalf and scrumhalf as he did in the third Test against the Lions.
Adi Jacobs, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier and Jean de Villiers will comprise the midfield - with Frans Steyn the sole fullback in Kirchner's absence.
That leaves wing as the last debatable position.
JP Pietersen and Bryan Habana remain the first choices, with the remaining spot to be contested between Odwa Ndungane and Jongi Nokwe.
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