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Rassie Erasmus names 10 uncapped players for latest 40-man Bok camp
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Rassie Erasmus has named 10 uncapped players for South Africa’s latest alignment camp, including U20 captain Riley Norton.
The 40-man squad will assemble in Cape Town from Tuesday to Thursday next week, and will include 25 forwards and 15 backs.
Fresh from leading South Africa to U20 Rugby Championship glory, Stormers lock Norton has been included, as has his U20 team-mate Zekhethelo Siyaya, who did not feature in the Championship. Norton’s team-mates when South Africa won the World Rugby U20 Championship last year, Lions scrum-half Haashim Pead and back-row Bathobele Hlekani, and Sharks wing Jaco Williams, have also been included.
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Following a standout season for the Stormers, flanker Paul de Villiers has been called up by Erasmus to a squad missing several frontline stars. Francke Horn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Emmanuel Tshituka and Henco Van Wyk complete the ensemble of uncapped players.
The squad will be gearing up towards their first Test of the year against England in Johannesburg on July 4. First, the Boks will face the Barbarians in Gqeberha on June 20.
“This is an exciting group of players, and it’s been pleasing to see them make their presence felt in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and during their teams’ Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup campaigns this season,” said Erasmus.
“This camp will be a good opportunity to expose those invited to our setup and the standards expected of the national coaches.
“We’re looking forward to involving Sibabalwe, Zekhethelo, Andre, Embrose, Francke, and Henco at this camp as we continue to build our squad depth.
“There are several players who are not currently fit to play, and we look forward to seeing them back in action in the near future, knowing they have a good sense of how the team operates and what will be expected of them when they return.
“It’s important to be clear about the objective of this alignment camp, and that is to expose these players to our environment, our standards, and the way we operate.
“The players who will not be present, whether through injury or workload, remain in our plans, and each one of them is on his own path with his own set of timelines.
“This week will give us the chance to align those who are fit and firing now with the way we want to operate, so that when an opportunity arises either this year or further down the line, they are ready to step up and deliver at international level.”
South Africa alignment camp
Forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Neethling Fouche, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Salmaan Moerat, Riley Norton, Zachary Porthen, Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter (all DHL Stormers); Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (all Fidelity Securedrive Lions); Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Vodacom Bulls); Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Emmanuel Tshituka (all Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard (all Vodacom Bulls); Andre Esterhuizen, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams, Jaco Williams (all Hollywoodbets Sharks); Quan Horn, Haashim Pead, Henco van Wyk, Morne van den Berg (all Fidelity Securedrive Lions); Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse (both DHL Stormers).
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