Six uncapped players in Springboks’ 46-man Nations Championship squad
· Citizen
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Saturday evening named a 46-man squad featuring six uncapped players and a host of returning Bulls players for the inaugural Nations Championship, which kicks off against England in Johannesburg on Saturday 4th July.
The squad includes 28 forwards and 18 backline players, with Paul de Villiers, Riley Norton, Ruben van Heerden and Carlu Sadie being the four uncapped forwards, while Vusi Moyo and Jaco Williams are the two new backs in a largely experienced squad.
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Scrumhalf Herchel Jantjies, who was a member of the 2019 Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning squad, also makes a notable return for the first time since his last appearance in the green and gold in August 2023 against Argentina.
Returning Bulls players
Twelve Bulls players, who were unavailable for selection for the Springboks’ 80-31 win over the Barbarians and the SA A team’s 40-0 victory over Zimbabwe in Gqeberha earlier on Saturday, were included.
They are Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp, Ruan Nortje, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Canan Moodie.
Papier, who was named the SA URC player of the Season, played the last of his seven Test matches in 2018, making this his first appearance in the Springbok squad in eight years.
Thomas du Toit also returns to the squad after completing his season with English club Bath.
The match against England will be followed by clashes against Scotland in Pretoria (11 July) and Wales in Durban (18 July) before the Boks travel to Buenos Aires to play a one-off Test against Los Pumas (8 August).
It is unknown whether Junior Springbok captain Norton and flyhalf Moyo’s inclusion in the group is for the Nations Championship games, which would mean they are out of the Junior Bok squad to compete in the Junior World Champs in Georgia over the next month, or if they will first do duty there and then return for the one-off Test against Argentina.
Pleased Rassie
“We are pleased with the quality of the group we have selected, and it’s also exciting to see the next generation of players coming through in Riley, Vusi, Paul, Carlu, Ruben and Jaco,” said Erasmus.
“They all proved against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe that they have what it takes to play at the highest level, and as coaches, we are fortunate that we’ve had the opportunity to work with them in the last two weeks.
“They are all familiar with the way the Springbok environment operates, the standards expected at this level, and they have shown that they are comfortable in the set-up, so we are excited for them to make this step-up.”
Erasmus added: “Embrose and Herschel have also made strong statements with their performances this season, and we are looking forward to welcoming them back in the squad.”
The Bok coach was also confident that the Bulls players would slot back into the system with ease: “All of the players with the exception of Embrose have been in our system in the last few seasons, so they know our structures well, and will have next week to get back into the swing of things, before we begin our proper Test-week preparations.”
The squad will depart for Johannesburg on Sunday morning to resume their training camp, with the Junior Springbok players set to join their team-mates for their preparations for the showpiece in Georgia, while the other players will return to their respective provincial unions.
Springbok squad for the Nations Championship
Props: Thomas du Toit, Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ox Nche, Zachary Porthen, Carlu Sadie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Boan Venter
Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar, Malcolm Marx, Andre-Hugo Venter
Locks: Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Ruan Nortje, Ruben van Heerden
Loose forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Cameron Hanekom, Siya Kolisi, Evan Roos, Vincent Tshituka, Jasper Wiese
Utility forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit, Franco Mostert, Riley Norton, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese
Scrumhalves: Embrose Papier, Herschel Jantjies, Cobus Reinach, Grant Williams
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok, Vusi Moyo, Handre Pollard
Centres: Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel
Outside and utility backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Aphelele Fassi, Quan Horn, Cheslin Kolbe, Canan Moodie, Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Williams, Damian Willemse