Nick Mallett: Springboks have Stormers legend to thank for rookie’s stark improvement before Rassie Erasmus’ ‘shock call’

Nick Mallett has given his verdict on the selection of Zachary Porthen for the Springboks’ end-of-year tour opener against Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Porthen was the shock inclusion in Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus’ 36-man squad for their five eagerly anticipated Tests against Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.

A hard-working tighthead prop, Porthen has only played a handful of matches for the Stormers since making his debut for them towards the latter part of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign.

And all that hard work received further reward when Erasmus named the 21-year-old in his starting line-up