Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard is pleased with how his knee held up during his return to the field for Montpellier this past Saturday.

Pollard had been sidelined since last September after tearing his knee ligament, which led fans to fear that his involvement in the upcoming British & Irish Lions series would be affected.

However, the former Bulls playmaker made his first appearance of the season for Montpellier in their 19-10 win over Bath in the European Challenge Cup semi-finals, kicking a penalty in the final play of the game.

That he was able to get through a handful off the bench without any issues will have both the Springbok coaching staff and supporters breathing a sigh of relief, as the 2019 World Cup winner remains the team’s obvious choice at flyhalf.

‘It was unbelievably nice to be back on the field and it was easy for me to trust my knee,’ Pollard told Netwerk24 after the match.

‘I knew the knee is strong. I underwent rigorous testing and have been training for four weeks with the team … so there was no doubt,’ he added.

Montpellier will face the Leicester Tigers in the Challenge Cup final at Twickenham on 21 May, where up to 21,000 fans could be in attendance.

Other South Africans in action for Montpellier include Bulls-bound Johan Goosen, locks Paul Willemse and Nico Janse van Rensburg, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.

Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images