A potent 37-man Springbok squad brimming with power among the forwards and loaded with explosive pace in the back division has been named to face Australia in the Rugby Championship.
The squad includes 24 World Cup winners and five players who made their debuts during the Castle Lager series, where the Boks scored comfortable wins over Italy and Georgia.
Three members of the triumphant Junior Springbok World Rugby U20 Championship squad — Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead — have been invited to train with the group during a conditioning camp which starts in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The five players who earned their first Test caps in July are Ethan Hooker (utility back), Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Boan Venter (both props), Marnus van der Merwe (hooker) and Cobus Wiese (utility forward).
The squad, to face the Wallabies in Johannesburg on August 16 and a week later in Cape Town on August 23, includes 20 forwards and 17 backline players.
“It’s always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands during the recent series,” coach Rassie Erasmus said.
“But we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Rugby Championship.
“This group includes several experienced players and a few younger guys who grabbed their chances in the last few Tests, so we are pleased with this squad for the first two matches.
“We have also informed the players on standby what our plans are and what we expect from them, so that all of them are ready to step up if needed.”
“We probably have three players who can cover each position, which is important in this competition, so it was a thorough process to narrow down the group to 36 players.
“One of our key pillars as a team is to build squad depth, and there is no better way to see what some of the younger players are capable of than to expose them to some of the top teams in the world.”
Erasmus said everyone was proud of the Junior Boks for winning the World Rugby U20 Championship.
“We were thrilled to see the talent coming through the junior ranks, so we opted to invite three of them to join us to expose them to our structures and the standards required at top international level,” he said.
“We believe this camp will benefit them significantly and we are excited to see how they slot in and train with us.
“Unfortunately, we had to limit the size of the squad to ensure maximum outputs and more individual attention at our training sessions, so though more players could have been invited, we could only select three.”
Bath prop Thomas du Toit has been granted a compulsory two-week rest as agreed with the Gallagher Premiership club, though he is eligible to be called up at any stage should the need arise, while No 8 Jasper Wiese is serving a four-week suspension, ruling him out of this squad.
A handful of players, in turn, have been released to their respective franchises to build up game time in the Carling Currie Cup competition, though a few of them have been placed on standby for the Wallaby Tests.
The standby players are Lukhanyo Am (centre), who missed the July Tests due to a knee niggle, Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Makazole Mapimpi (wing), Salmaan Moerat (lock), Evan Roos (No 8), Neethling Fouche (prop) and Vincent Tshituka (flanker).
The squad is:
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese.
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Edwill van der Merwe, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse.
The Herald
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