Rassie Erasmus names exciting Springbok squad

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named the same 54 players — nine of whom are uncapped — that attended the second national alignment camp in Cape Town last month in a large training squad for the opening stages of the international season.

The Boks' campaign kicks off on June 28 against the Barbarians, followed by the Incoming Series.

The squad, which was confirmed on Thursday by SA Rugby, includes 31 players who have done duty at the Rugby World Cup. The group consist of 30 forwards and 24 backs, while only nine players are yet to don the green and gold jersey on the international stage.

The nine uncapped players in the group are Marnus van der Merwe, Neethling Fouché, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese, Renzo du Plessis, Vincent Tshituka, Juarno Augustus, Ethan Hooker and Ntokozo Makhaza.

While Fouché and Hooker were members of the Springbok training squad last season, Tshituka and Augustus had a taste of the senior international structures after being included in the Springbok Showdown Green and Gold squads in 2020.

With the Bulls, Sharks and Leinster still in the race for the United Rugby Championship grand final, with their teammates from Bath, Leicester Tigers and the Sale Sharks, who will contest the Gallagher Premiership semifinals this weekend, a staggered approach will be adopted to the players joining the camp.

The available players, who include the full Japan-based contingent after the conclusion of their season, will assemble in Johannesburg on Sunday and begin their on-field preparations on Monday. The remainder of the players will join the squad as they complete their club commitments.

Five players were not considered for selection due to injuries: Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie and Trevor Nyakane.

“We were pleased with the two Springbok alignment camps we hosted and we are excited to have the luxury of announcing a squad with so much depth and talent,” Erasmus said.

“Having an expanded squad will not only afford us the opportunity to have productive training sessions but it will also bode well for the younger players in the group to learn from the senior players, many of whom are Rugby World Cup champions.

“We take pride in offering talented young players a chance to work first-hand with the coaches and expose them to standards at international level and we are excited to see them showcase their skills at the camp.

“We used 50 players last season in an attempt to balance the load on them, while also building towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia. With a few more talented youngsters in this group, we hope they will learn valuable lessons and stake a strong claim for places in what will be a challenging, yet exciting season.”

The squad will train from Monday to Friday before returning home for the weekend to spend time with their families. It reassembles on June 15 for the second week of training, before travelling to Cape Town for the Barbarians match.

The Springboks meet the Barbarians in their first encounter on South African soil in Cape Town to play for the Qatar Airways Cup. That clash will be followed by back-to-back Tests against Italy in Pretoria on July 5 and Gqeberha on July 12, then Georgia in Mbombela on July 19.

Springbok squad

Forwards: Juarno Augustus (Northampton Saints), Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Renzo du Plessis (Lions), Jean-Luc du Preez (Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Neethling Fouche (Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Bulls), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi (both Sharks), Wilco Louw (Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu (both Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (Stormers), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls), Vincent Tshituka (Sharks), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)

Backs: Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), André Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi (both Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker (all Sharks), Quan Horn (Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Willie le Roux (Bulls), Manie Libbok (Stormers), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), Ntokozo Makhaza (UCT), Canan Moodie (Bulls), Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Morne van den Berg, Edwilll van der Merwe (both Lions), Damian Willemse (Stormers), Grant Williams (Sharks).

SA Rugby media