Following the announcement of the invitees for the first Springbok alignment camp of the year, here are our five takeaways.
Top line
In 2024, Rassie Erasmus utilised exactly 50 players throughout the year and while he stated that the squad will settle more this year, he is certainly not closing the door to any player, particularly those who are locally based.
In revealing the 56 invitees for the first alignment camp of the year, the Springboks head coach stressed the need and importance of these camps.
“Our alignment camps have proven invaluable in the last few years as it offers us the opportunity to present our structures for the season, as well as the Springbok culture and way of doing things,” he said.
However, one must remember that just because a player has not been invited to the first camps or the next three that will follow, does not mean that they have no chance of playing for the Springboks this year.
Edwill van der Merwe is a perfect example of this as he was not invited to any of the camps in the build to the international season but would go on to play the first game of the year against Wales scoring on his debut. An injury robbed him of adding to his cap tally in 2024 but he will certainly fancy his chances this year.
In the same breath, being invited to the camp does not guarantee a Springboks cap with Celimpilo Gumede, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Henco van Wyk examples of that.
However, it does provide the coaches with the opportunity to get to know some of the players that they have had an eye on and perhaps have not spoken to or even met in person before.
And browsing through Erasmus’ list, there are certainly a few surprising inclusions that seem to fit that bill as the coaching team get to know the player pool better.
As the Bok boss stated at a camp before the 2019 World Cup: “We get the right people, not the best people. Because sometimes the best people are a*******s, sometimes the best people are self-centred, sometimes the best people aren’t team players. So you get the right people.”
He and his team won’t know who the right people are unless they get to know them better, this is a key role the camps play while obviously testing whether prospective Boks actually have what it takes physically.
Rassie Erasmus invites 16 uncapped players for the ‘invaluable’ Springbok alignment camp
Right people remain
It’s clear that once Rassie finds the right people, he keeps them involved with 18 members of the 2023 Rugby World Cup-winning squad invited – 10 of which were also crowned champions at the 2019 World Cup. Additionally, 22 capped national players were named in the group.
While it’s clear to see that Erasmus is looking to the next World Cup and beyond, he is not discarding anyone just yet particularly if they have knowledge or experience to pass on – no stone is being left unturned and no IP is being lost.
This is clearly evident in both the forwards and backs with Trevor Nyakane notably invited to the camp. Nyakane has represented the Springboks at three successive Rugby World Cups and has spent his career switching between tighthead and loosehead prop with ease.
The prop has invaluable knowledge and experience in the intricacies of the front-row and is understood that he is lining up a career in coaching when he does hang up his boots. While front-rowers nowadays seemingly go deep into their late 30s, last year showed that the Boks are looking beyond the brilliant servant of the Green and Gold jersey as he played just once – coming off the bench against Portugal. The likes of Ntuthuko Mchunu, Neethling Fouche, and Asenathi Ntlabakanye can all certainly take learnings from the experienced forward, particularly Jan-Hendrik Wessels who is developing into a player who can cover all front-row positions.
Another player who looks unlikely to make the next Rugby World Cup is Willie Le Roux and while Erasmus has admitted that they will attempt to get the veteran playmaker to 100 Test caps, he is unlikely to get too many caps beyond that. Still, the 35-year-old possesses attacking prowess that is nigh-on unmatched in the Springboks set-up and that IQ cannot be wasted and it won’t be.
Le Roux repeatedly earned praise from the coaching staff and youth players for his willingness to pass on his expertise and will undoubtedly continue to do so with the likes of Jordan Hendrikse, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and others being the biggest benefactors.
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Surprise inclusions
With so many players invited there were certainly some Erasmus-esque curveballs in the squad.
Perhaps the most notable of which being the Bulls’ rapid winger Sebastian de Klerk. He has been in fine form for the Pretoria-based side and his pace would certainly be an asset for the Springboks but frankly, he will be quite far down the pecking order to be considered for a Test matchday squad.
In the pack, Renzo du Plessis is another interesting call. The livewire flanker is the in the Kwagga Smith mould so it’s no surprise that he is getting a look in but he has been sidelined since early December and is yet to start a URC fixture for the Lions.
Perhaps less surprising is the invitations for Sharks’ rising stars Ethan Hooker and Jurenzo Julius. The midfielders have impressed for the Durbanites this season and have the raw talents to star on the international scene. Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende have dominated the centre positions in recent years with Andre Esterhuizen forcing his way through too but there is certainly scope for the next generation of midfielders to come through and stake their claim.
And the uncapped Lions centre Henco van Wyk is another centre who is well-placed to push for a first cap and it probably would have come last year had it not been for injuries.
One really surprising inclusion is that of Embrose Papier. The Bulls scrum-half has been in excellent form for some time now and perhaps this is just reward for that. He has been a consistent performer for Jake White’s men but has been overlooked regularly by the Springboks who have serious depth at scrum-half. Papier was favoured during Erasmus’ first stint as head coach but has not earned a cap since 2018.
The search for the next crop of hookers
Last year, we bemoaned the fact that while Erasmus had cast a wide net across multiple positions, he did not seem too fazed with the future in the middle of the front-row with Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi still dominating the two roles in the matchday 23s.
However, he looks to be addressing that this year with his first alignment camp with Mbonambi joined by Andre-Hugo Venter and Johan Grobbelaar who were both capped for the first time in 2024 with Joseph Dweba and Akker van der Merwe recalled.
Wessels is bound to be an option again but the inclusion of Sharks hooker Ethan Bester is perhaps the most interesting. The 20-year-old impressed during the Currie Cup season last year and after a handful of injuries in the position, he earned his first shot in the URC. A confident rookie, Bester looks to have the raw potential to be a class Test hooker and it would not be surprising to see him in a Green and Gold jumper somewhere down the lnie, although 2025 does seem too soon.
He gets an invite ahead of clubmate Fez Mbatha who is held in high regard at the Sharks but is currently sidelined and that could be the reason as to why he has not been invited.
Addressing the lock stocks
South Africa have never been short of quality lock options but perhaps never been stretched as they were in 2024. During that injury crisis, Erasmus admitted that there were players that they were keeping an eye on but had not got involved in the system yet.
At the time, he simply said a ‘few Bulls locks’ -seemingly referencing JF van Heerden and Reinhardt Ludwig who have both been invited to the camp. The former starred with the Springbok U20s and is another rising star who is bound to don the Green and Gold jersey at some point while the latter has been hugely impressive at lock and at blindside for the Bulls.
While Erasmus is looking to bring the next generation through into the Test set-up, it’s clear that he is looking for players who have similar traits and abilities to the ones that have served the Boks well since 2018. Similarities between Van Heerden and Lood de Jager are quite stark in the Bulls man being a rather large loosehead lock but still an excellent lineout jumper while Ludwig can easily be compared to the likes of Franco Mostert and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The Bok boss is certainly a fan of the lock-blindside hybrids with Ruan Venter and Cobus Wiese both called up as well, the latter looking to follow in his brother Jasper’s footsteps. The need to not only test how deep the lock depth is not only important in the event of a crisis but the likes of De Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Mostert and Du Toit are in the latter stages of their careers and may not all make it to the next World Cup but Erasmus is also looking beyond Australia 2027.
READ MORE: ‘It ruined the game’ – Matt Williams slams World Rugby after Scotland utilised Springboks-esque tactics with ‘not suitably trained’ Tom Jordan
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-camp-five-takeaways-as-rassie-erasmus-looks-beyond-world-cup-2027-as-the-search-for-the-right-people-continues
