Rassie Erasmus has named a 54-man squad for the opening stages of the Springboks’ international season, with nine uncapped players included.
The group named is the same 54 players that attended the second alignment camp in Cape Town last month.
The squad, which was confirmed on Thursday by SA Rugby, includes 31 Rugby World Cup players and consists of 30 forwards and 24 backs.
Nine uncapped players
The nine uncapped players in the group are Marnus van der Merwe, Neethling Fouche, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese, Renzo du Plessis, Vincent Tshituka, Juarno Augustus, Ethan Hooker and Ntokozo Makhaza.
Makhaza remains in the squad and could earn his first professional appearance in the Green and Gold jersey after starring in the Varsity Cup for Ikeys.
While Fouche 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 Castle Lager 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, along with their teammates from Bath, Leicester Tigers, and Sale Sharks, who will contest the Premiership semi-finals this weekend, a staggered approach will be adopted to the players joining the camp, SA Rugby confirmed.
The available players will assemble in Johannesburg on Sunday, June 8 and begin their on-field preparations on Monday.
Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie and Trevor Nyakane were not considered due to injury.
“We were very 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,” said Erasmus.
“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 to expose them to standards at international level, and we are excited to see them showcase their skills at the camp.”
Erasmus added: “We used a total of 50 players last season in an attempt to balance the load on them, while at the same time building towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and with a few more talented youngsters in this group, we hope that they will learn valuable lessons and stake a strong claim for places in what will be a challenging, yet exciting season.”
The Springboks will meet the Barbarians in their first encounter on South African soil in Cape Town on Saturday, June 28 where they will play for the Qatar Airways Cup, which will be followed by back-to-back Tests against Italy in Pretoria and Gqeberha on July 5 and 12, and Georgia in Nelspruit a week later on July 19.
Springboks squad
Forwards: Juarno Augustus, Lood de Jager, Renzo du Plessis, Jean-Luc du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Neethling Fouche, Cameron Hanekom, Jean Kleyn, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Salmaan Moerat, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Tshituka, Marco van Staden, Marnus van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese, Jasper Wiese
Backs: Lukhanyo Am, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Faf de Klerk, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker, Quan Horn, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Ntokozo Makhaza, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe, Damian Willemse, Grant Williams
READ MORE: Springboks home fixtures confirmed as Rassie Erasmus’ men return to Gqeberha
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-rassie-erasmus-names-54-man-squad-including-semi-pro-sensation-as-one-of-nine-uncapped-players
