Following the announcement of the 54 players invited to the second Springbok alignment camp, we pick out our winners and losers from Rassie Erasmus’ selections.
It’s worth noting straight off the bat that while the camps do give an insight into who the Springboks coaches have on their selection radar, players who have been omitted and, by the same token, invited are not guaranteed to be selected in the squads later this year.
A notable example of this is livewire winger Edwill van der Merwe, who was not involved in any camps in the build-up to the 2024 international season but went on to start the first Test match of the year against Wales, scoring a try on his debut.
So, without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the Springboks alignment camp invitees.
Winners
Ntokozo Makhaza
Erasmus always manages to spring a surprise or two when it comes to squad selections, but the call-up for Ntokozo Makhaza is perhaps his most astonishing to date.
Makhaza is yet to play a fully-fledged professional match of rugby having just signed a deal to join the Cheetahs ahead of the Currie Cup, but the Ikeys Tigers star lit up the Varsity Cup and certainly caught the eye of the coaching team.
The 23-year-old is the latest pocket rocket winger to be called into the Springboks squad under Erasmus’ tutelage, following in the footsteps of Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Van der Merwe.
While a Test bow before a professional debut seems unlikely, don’t write it off completely. Throwing a bolter like Makhaza into a match against the Barbarians would be rather fitting, if even too soon, but there are signs that he is an incredibly talented player. He is the ultimate bolter, even if it is just for an alignment camp.
Makhaza capped off another memorable season in the Varsity Cup season, scoring twice in the final as the Cape-based side defeated Maties 44-21 and was named the competition’s Player of the Year.
The winger also offers a deadly accurate boot and is the Varsity Cup’s all-time leading points scorer.
The #VarsityCup‘s top points scorer adds another seven to his tally 😏
This step by Ntokozo Makhaza was filthy 🥵
📺 Stream #VarsityCup on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/j8duWrK4jI
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 31, 2025
Juarno Augustus
Since leaving South African shores, Juarno Augustus has not got a look into the Springboks’ set-up, having played the Green and Gold match all the way back in 2020.
This is despite the former World Rugby U20 Player of the Year being a consistent performer for Northampton Saints, being a linchpin in the pack en route to winning the Premiership title last season.
He has continued that form as he starred in the victory over Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals and has seemingly usurped Stormers star Evan Roos, who the Cape-based side had recruited to fill his void, in the pecking order.
Augustus ticks all the boxes to be a Springboks number eight with an incredibly well-rounded game around the park and will now hope he can press for a Test debut.
Vincent Tshituka
Much has been made about the eligibility of Congolese-born Vincent Tshituka and his brother Emmanuel, but SA Rugby have now officially confirmed that he is able to be selected, having received his South African ID.
Tshituka is another player who has consistently performed in recent seasons for the Sharks, leading them to a Currie Cup title, and before then with the Lions.
While he has played much of his rugby at blindside this season, with Siya Kolisi starting at number eight, he is comfortable at the back of the scrum.
With Elrigh Louw injured for the entire 2025 international season, Tshituka could be tasked with providing a similar impact to the Bulls star.
Five uncapped players
Outside of the aforementioned trio, Erasmus has included five more uncapped players in the form of Renzo du Plessis, Neethling Fouche, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Marnus van der Merwe and Cobus Wiese.
The quintet were all invited to the first alignment camps and have retained their places since.
Earlier this week, Van der Merwe said that he hoped that his form with the Scarlets would be noticed by the Bok coaches.
“It’s definitely a thing I am going for, but I focus on the next thing, which is helping the Scarlets where I can. Then, through that, I hope the Springbok coaches can see what I bring and see that I have the talent to be there,” he said.
“My goal is to get into international rugby. Everyone hopes for that. I just go out and play the best I can every single day. Hopefully that’s enough.”
The hooker has been a fan favourite since making the move to Scarlets from the Cheetahs earning him the nickname the ‘Llanelli Warthog’. He offers a similar threat to Malcolm Marx over the ball. Still, his involvement comes at the expense of Bulls star Johan Grobbelaar, more on that later.
Meanwhile, Du Plessis continues his rise after impressing in the Currie Cup last year and stamping his mark with a man of the match performance in his URC start for the Jo’burgers. It’s clear to see that Erasmus is exploring his options on the openside of the scrum and the livewire flanker is in a prime position to earn an appearance.
His teammate, Ntlabakanye, continues his involvement after being a powerhouse in the front-row for the Lions, while Bulls enforcer Wiese has been in thunderous form, offering another lock-blindside hybrid option.
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Daan Human
SA Rugby states that the camp will involve a series of boardroom sessions, but one would not be shocked if scrum guru Daan Human didn’t take the front-rowers out for a quick session.
The former Bok will be eagerly looking forward to the first training session with powerhouse props like Fouche, Vincent Koch, Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ox Nche, Ntlabakanye, Gerhard Steenekamp and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, all included, and that’s just the locally-based front-rowers!
Throw in Bath-based swing prop Thomas du Toit with hookers Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx, Van der Merwe and Wessels’ utility and the depth in the front-row really takes shape.
Former Springboks wing Cornal Hendricks dies aged 37
Losers
Evan Roos
One of the most shocking omissions from Erasmus, as Evan Roos has repeatedly been included in the Springboks set-up since making his debut in 2022.
The number eight played twice for the Boks last year before going under the knife to sort a troublesome niggle. However, he has returned in fine shape for the Stormers this season, and he looked a strong contender to slot into the back of the scrum.
However, Erasmus is seemingly expanding his net wider than the 50 Springboks that represented the team last year, with the inclusion of Augustus in the squad.
Johan Grobbelaar and Joseph Dweba
As mentioned above, not being invited to the alignment camp does not mean that a player won’t play for the Springboks this year, but Grobbelaar’s omission is incredibly puzzling.
Mbonambi and Marx continue to produce world-class performances, but Erasmus hasn’t looked too far beyond the pair in his tenure.
Grobbelaar got a handful of chances in 2024, while Joseph Dweba was overlooked entirely, and the latter looks unlikely to feature this year as he joins Premiership strugglers Exeter Chiefs.
Scarlets front-rower Van der Merwe looks to have moved ahead of the queue behind the two double World Cup winners, while the Boks look set to further explore Wessels as a utility option.
Still, it seems rather risky not to further develop the depth of the hooker position particularly with Mbonambi celebrating his 34th birthday earlier this year.
Overlooked back-rowers
There is a plethora of back-rowers, outside of Roos, who can also feel hard done by, including the likes of Ruan Venter and Phepsi Buthelezi, but perhaps Marcell Coetzee is the most unfortunate of the lot.
Age, 34, probably counts against the 31 Test cap forward, but he has been in sterling form for the Bulls.
Coetzee may well have played his last game for the Springboks already, while the two stars who debuted last year will need to go back to the drawing board to impress the national team’s coaching team.
Dropped centres
Erasmus is really spoilt for choice in the centres with Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende shining in Japan, while Lukhanyo Am and Andre Esterhuizen produce solid shifts for the Sharks.
Ethan Hooker and Canan Moodie then provide further depth as utility backs which means that Henco van Wyk and Jurenzo Julius have not received invitations for the second camp.
Keagan Johannes
A victim of the Springboks’ half-back depth. Keagan Johannes has been brilliant at scrum-half and fly-half for the Bulls this season and considering how much the coaches value utility, it’s surprising that he hasn’t got a look-in yet.
At scrum-half, he is blocked by the likes of Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Jaden Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg and Grant Williams. While at fly-half, there are the likes of Handre Pollard, Manie Libbok, Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mnogmezulu.
Injured stars
Five players were not considered for the alignment camp due to injuries, namely Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie and Trevor Nyakane.
Louw is only set to return from injury in early 2025, while for the rest, it is touch-and-go. Nyakane’s injury threatens to end his career, while Malherbe has a concerning number of setbacks this season.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-alignment-camp-winners-and-losers-including-rassie-erasmus-astonishing-call-up-and-puzzling-omission
