Duane and Boks behind Jannie du Plessis' family 'all the way': 'I can't imagine such a loss'

• Duane Vermeulen and the rest of the Springbok squad expressed their sadness and sympathy towards Jannie du Plessis and his family.
• Vermeulen woke up to the heartbreaking news of his former national team-mate's one-year-old son's death in an apparent drowning accident and admitted he couldn't imagine such a tragedy.  
• It seems unlikely, however, that the team will engage in some sort of gesture when they take on England at Twickenham this weekend.

Duane Vermeulen, on behalf of the whole Springbok contingent, on Wednesday expressed their utmost sympathy and condolences to Jannie du Plessis and his family.

The broader South African rugby community is in mourning following the tragic news that the 70-cap former Bok prop's one-year-old son, Jan Nathaniel, had died in an apparent drowning accident on Tuesday evening.

Vermeulen, a national team-mate of Du Plessis between 2012 and 2015, admitted that his morning started on an unhappy note by waking up to the news.

"It's not nice to get out of bed and read a message from your wife informing you of such a tragedy," said South Africa's talismanic No 8, who's currently in London where the Boks take on England this weekend.

"I simply can't imagine what Jannie and his family must be going through. I can't begin to comprehend what one must feel after such a loss."

Vermeulen himself is a father of two sons with spouse, Ezel.

As the day progressed, the whole squad had been made aware of the developments.

"As a family, they'll be in our thoughts throughout. We really want to offer them all our condolences, we understand it's a hugely difficult time," said Vermeulen.

"We'll stand behind them and support them as best we can as individuals."

It's not known at this stage whether the team will engage in some sort of gesture at Twickenham when they run on for their final Test of a taxing 2021 campaign, though the 35-year-old loose forward intimated it might not be appropriate.

"To be honest, we haven't sat down as a squad and discussed anything like that," said Vermeulen.

"If need be, we'll confer and do something for Jannie, but this coming weekend is about the game. We can always do something special for them a little bit later on."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:15.