Lloyd Burnard | Am for Mapimpi? Boks boast brightest star power in RWC time of need

One bright Bok star suddenly departs, but another is poised to arrive, completing the most dramatic, spectacular Rugby World Cup comeback.

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The inevitable confirmation on Monday morning that Makazole Mapimpi, South Africa's darling of 2019, was ruled out of the 2023 tournament with a fractured eye socket was naturally a devastating blow.

Mapimpi may find himself behind Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the Bok wing pecking order presently, but every time Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber opt to go into a big game without him, it must come after a near-sleepless night of contemplation.

Mapimpi is that good, that dependable, and leaving him out can surely never be a routine call.

Mapimpi is a giant of the international game and never really did anything wrong or dipped in form to warrant losing his famous No 11 jersey.

Instead, the Bok brains trust opted to back the high-flying electrifying Arendse, and given the exhilarating rise of that rare talent over the last two years, it was a decision that had its undeniable merits.

But Mapimpi, whether he is playing against Tonga or the All Blacks, is still Mapimpi, and losing his services as the World Cup is about to enter the business end is a killer.

The beauty in this negative space, though, is that the man replacing him is equally celebrated in South African rugby circles, and equally capable.

It was heart-wrenching when Lukhanyo Am was left out of the 33-man Bok squad announced for the showpiece back in August, with a knee injury ruining his dreams of a second World Cup.

His no-look pass to set up Mapimpi for the Boks' first ever try in a World Cup final on 2 November 2019 in Yokohama will live eternally as one