Rassie Erasmus unveils six new faces in Springboks' Nations Championship squad

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has picked his 46-man squad for the inaugural Nations Championship fixtures in July, starting on July 4 against England in Johannesburg.

Six of the 46 players are uncapped, while a dozen Vodacom Bulls players are returning from their URC final defeat at the hands of Leinster in Dublin.

The twelve players, who were unavailable for the Springboks’ double header against Zimbabwe and the Barbarians, are all back in the mix for Erasmus and his coaching staff.

Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp, Ruan Nortje, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie will look to put the URC final behind them as they head into Springboks camp.

Erasmus and his coaching staff have named 28 forwards and 18 backs, with the six possible debutants being Paul de Villiers, Riley Norton, Ruben van Heerden, Carlu Sadie, Vusi Moyo and Jaco Williams.

“We are pleased with the quality of the group we have selected, and it’s also exciting to see the next generation of players coming through in Riley, Vusi, Paul, Carlu, Ruben and Jaco,” said Erasmus.

“They all proved against the Barbarians and SA ‘A’ teams that they have what it takes to play at the highest level, and as coaches, we are fortunate that we’ve had the opportunity to work with them in the last two weeks.

“They are all familiar with the way the Springbok environment operates, the standards expected at this level, and they have shown that they are comfortable in the set-up, so we are excited for them to make this step-up.”

Erasmus explained the decision to bring back both Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls) and Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne), whose last Tests for the Springboks was 2023 and 2018 respectively.

“Embrose and Herschel have also made strong statements with their performances this season, and we are looking forward to welcoming them back in the squad.”

The Springboks coach believes that the Vodacom Bulls players will have no issue slotting back into the environment.

“All of the players with the exception of Embrose have been in our system in the last few seasons, so they know our structures well, and will have next week to get back into the swing of things, before we begin our proper Test-week preparations.”

“The squad will depart for Johannesburg on Sunday morning to resume their training camp, with the Junior Springbok players set to join their team-mates for their preparations for the showpiece in Georgia, while the other players will return to their respective provincial unions,” the Springboks media release said.

Springbok squad for the Nations Championship:

Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Ntuthuko Mchunu (DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers), Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh).

Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers).

Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers).

Loose forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon (both DHL Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

Utility forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Riley Norton (DHL Stormers), Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Vodacom Bulls).

Scrumhalves: Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls), Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).

Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls).

Centres: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).

Outside and utility backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Quan Horn (Fidelity Securedrive Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).