Erasmus invites 3 U20 stars into Bok squad as multiple RWC winners miss out

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has invited three U20 stars to train with his newly-named 37-man Springboks squad ahead of their first two matches of the Rugby Championship next month.

Junior Springboks talisman Haashim Pead, winger Cheswill Jooste and flanker Bathobele Hlekani, fresh from their World Rugby U20 Championship win over New Zealand U20 at the weekend, will train with the squad in Johannesburg over the next two weeks.

Scrum-half Pead will not train alongside double World Cup winner Faf de Klerk, however, who has missed out days after he was forced from the field in the victory over Georgia not long after coming on as a substitute.

De Klerk is on the standby list for the Boks, who get their Rugby Championship campaign under against Australia on August 16 at Ellis Park, alongside fellow World Cup winners Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am, who missed the July Tests with a knee injury. Lock Salmaan Moerat, No.8 Evan Roos, newly capped tighthead Neethling Fouche and flanker Vincent Tshituka are also on the standby list.

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“We are tremendously proud of the Junior Springboks for winning the World Rugby U20 Championship and 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,” Erasmus said of the U20 players.

“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 although more players could have been invited, we could only select three.”

On the players who have missed out, he said: “It’s always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands during the Castle Lager Incoming Series, but we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Castle Lager 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.”

South Africa squad
Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls).

Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).