Springboks v Wales: Four Bok players eager to impress

The Springboks take on Wales in their final end-of-year-tour match and international of the year at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday night.

Two teams in completely different form will be hunting a win; the Boks to secure a clean sweep on their tour to the UK and finish with a superb 11 wins from 13 games, while Wales are desperate to pick up their only win of the year after losing all 10 of their matches over the season to date.

The Boks have made seven changes to the team that beat England 29-20 at Twickenham over the past weekend, bringing in a number of fringe players who will be eager to impress

Here are four players looking to make their mark in the match:

Jordan Hendrikse

The budding young flyhalf talent made his debut against Wales at Twickenham back in June, and put in a bit of a mixed bag performance, making a few errors and missing a kick or two, but he also did a number of things well and landed some kicks. But that was the last time he featured for the Boks and it looked like he wouldn’t play again this year after he wasn’t included in the team’s end-of-year-tour squad to the UK.

An injury to Damian Willemse in the Stormers final URC match before tour shrunk the Boks flyhalf stocks, and with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also out after having knee surgery, it cracked the door for Hendrikse. However Erasmus chose to call-up Cameron Hanekom instead, until another injury, to France Malherbe opened another spot and this time Hendrikse got the call. He will want to put in a stronger showing against the Welsh this time round and impress the coaching staff.

Jaden Hendrikse

Jaden will have his brother Jordan outside him for the first time in Springbok colours, and he will likely want to give his sibling top quality service against the Welsh. However the scrumhalf will also know how important the game is for him personally, with his Sharks teammate Grant Williams breathing heavily down his neck. With Faf de Klerk not expected to make it to the next World Cup, a new first choice scrumhalf is needed.

Cobus Reinach at 34 is also unlikely to reach the showpiece event in Australia in 2027. That leaves Hendrikse and Williams as the current mainstays to duke it out. Herschel Jantjies and Embrose Papier have both played for the Boks as well, so are possible options, while Morne van den Berg made his debut this year. Hendrikse will however be desperate to impress against Wales after a poor showing against Scotland, while Williams was superb against England.

Johan Grobbelaar

It feels like this could be a make or break game for Grobbelaar in his attempts to become a regular hooking option in the Springbok setup going forward. Bongi Mbonambi will be touch and go for the next World Cup, while Malcolm Marx still has plenty of years ahead of him. The Boks have been searching for that regular third choice option, but have been unable to nail one down, with Joseph Dweba struggling to make the step up, while Deon Fourie covered it last year as well.

This year Erasmus has waxed lyrical about the versatility of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who can play prop and hooker, and both him and Grobbelaar featured for the Boks during the Incoming Series and Rugby Championship. But it seemed like Wessels had jumped ahead of Grobbelaar after making the Bok squad for the end-of-year-tour, only to pick up an injury, allowing Grobbelaar to get back into the mix, so he will be eager to make a big impression against Wales.

Wilco Louw

The Bulls prop was a late call-up to the Boks end-of-year-tour squad, after initially not being picked, but an injury to his teammate Jan-Hendrik Wessels opened the door for him to get in. Louw enjoyed a top past season for his franchise in the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, but surprisingly didn’t make the Bok squads for both the Incoming Series and Rugby Championship earlier this year, so it must have been a relief for him to finally get in.

Louw put in a strong performance against England over the past weekend, which was his first appearance for the Boks since 2021. With Frans Malherbe out injured, he now gets another chance to impress against Wales. Malherbe and Vincent Koch will both be touch and go come the next World Cup in 2027, so the Boks will be looking for a main tighthead, and with a number of up and coming players coming through, Louw will want to take his opportunity and establish himself.