Springboks flanker Juan Smith will miss the Rugby World Cup tournament as he said he has not recovered from an Achilles tendon injury.

One of the stars of the 2007 tournament, the rangy Smith will be badly missed by the defending champions.

He said he had struggled to recover from the injury picked up during Super Rugby.

Smith said he had been experiencing a lot of pain with the injury but still had hopes that he would recover in time for the world cup.

He will now have an operation on the injury and then put his efforts into making his comeback for the Cheetahs in next year's Super Rugby tournament.

Springboks is in the same group as Fiji in Pool D of the RWC which also includes Samoa, Namibia and Wales.

The RWC kicks-off in New Zealand on the 9th of September.

Story by: Dreu Vukailagi