Strong Springbok squad named for Incoming Series next month

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a strong squad of 39 players as well as an additional 14 players on a standby list for the Incoming Series against Ireland and Portugal next month.

The Boks take on Ireland in a two Test series, kicking off at Loftus next weekend, followed by the second Test in Durban, before they battle it out against Portugal in Bloemfontein in which most of their fringe players will likely get a run.

There are four uncapped players named in the squad, namely Sharks loose forward Phepsi Buthelezi, Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, and the Bulls duo of hooker Johan Grobbelaar and front rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Cheslin Kolbe and Lukhanyo Am, who joined the Springbok squad at different stages during the training camp in Pretoria to do their rehabilitation under the supervision of the Bok medical team, are back from injury.

Handre Pollard and Jasper Wiese, who trained with the team but were ineligible for selection due to the Wales Test falling outside of the international window have also been named in the squad, although Wiese will only be available for selection once he completes his suspension from a dangerous tackle.

Erasmus also called up double Rugby World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi, as well as fellow World Cup winners RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux, after all wrapped up their club commitments.

Recent debutants

Three players who made their Test debuts in the Boks 41-13 win against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, Edwill van der Merwe, Ben-Jason Dixon and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, were included in the group.

The 39-man squad features 22 forwards and 17 backline players, with Erasmus set to name the captain for the competition closer to the Ireland Test.

The coach’s standby list includes six capped Springboks, and these players will train with the team at stages during the next four weeks before the team’s historic Test against Portugal, while they could also be called up at short notice in the event of injuries during the Ireland Tests.

Eight players were ruled out of contention for selection due to injury, namely Steven Kitshoff, Jean Kleyn, Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom, Jaden Hendrikse, Henco van Wyk, Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse.

“We named the best squad available for the Incoming Series, and with squad depth being one of our key pillars as we build toward to the 2027 Rugby World Cup and the Test against Portugal, we thought it would be beneficial to us to name a standby squad with a few players who will join us at training sporadically in the next few weeks,” explained Erasmus.

“Unfortunately, a handful of players are carrying injuries and were ruled out of the selection mix, but our plan to build depth in the last few years and expose players to Test rugby in the build-up to the 2023 RWC and against Wales last weekend certainly paid off.”

Springbok squad for Incoming Series:

Forwards:

Phepsi Buthelezi, Ben-Jason Dixon, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth. Johan Grobbelaar, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Salmaan Moerat, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Evan Roos, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese

Backs:

Lukhanyo Am, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Faf de Klerk, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams

Players on standby:

Forwards: Jean-Luc du Preez, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, Celimpilo Gumede, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ruben van Heerden, Andre-Hugo Venter

Backs: Suleiman Hartzenberg, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker, Quan Horn, Siya Masuku