Ex-Springbok captain De Villiers laments loss of injured trio at World Cup

The absence of three injured first-choice players will be a massive challenge for South Africa in their Rugby World Cup defence, according to three former Springbok captains, including Jean de Villiers.

READ | Injury flies in ointment: De Jager, Am, Pollard on (hopeful) Bok standby list

Flyhalf Handre Pollard, centre Lukhanyo Am and lock Lood de Jager were all missing from the squad announced in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

However, all three are on standby in case of injuries during the tournament, which starts in France on 8 September, with the Springboks facing Scotland two days later.

"The squad is very different to what we would have chosen prior to what we know now," former centre Jean de Villiers told SuperSport.

"If you had to play a World Cup final today, you would have selected all three," he said.

John Smit, who captained the Springboks to victory in the 2007 World Cup in France, said the loss of Pollard was a heavy blow as it left the team without an established, match-winning goal-kicker.

"World Cups are won by goal-kickers," said Smit. "We have to figure out who our top three goal-kickers are."

Former star lock Victor Matfield, the most capped Springbok with 127 Test appearances, said the selection of 2019 World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi was "fantastic for the country".

But all three former captains shared concern about his match fitness after a long lay-off since knee surgery in April.

De Villiers said defining leadership roles would be important.

"Siya might be the captain of the squad, but he might not be the captain on the field.

"You need to be clear about the leadership roles. We have also lost two leaders in the backline in Pollard and Am."

Matfield added, "Those three (injured players) are a big loss. We