Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named most of the players who were members of the squad that retained the Freedom Cup in New Zealand last weekend in his 33-man squad for their closing two Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches against Argentina in Durban and London.
The Bok squad assembled in Durban on Thursday after having a few days off with their families following their return from New Zealand on Sunday night to begin their preparations for the last two matches of the competition. These rounds will decide if the Boks retain the title.
The players ruled out of contention for selection were Lood de Jager (lock), Jean-Luc du Preez (loose forward), and Aphelele Fassi (fullback) – who all suffered injuries during the New Zealand tour – as well as Gerhard Steenekamp, Frans Malherbe (both props), Salmaan Moerat (lock), and Kurt-Lee Arendse (utility back), who have been on the injury list for different durations in the last few months.
The squad to face Argentina includes 18 forwards and 15 backline players. The teams will meet at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, 27 September, and at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in London on 4 October.
As things stand, the Wallabies are currently on 11 points going into their Bledisloe Cup matches against New Zealand, while the Springboks are in second place, and the All Blacks in third place (both on 10 points), while the Pumas are one point back with nine points – with all four teams having won two of their four matches to date.
“This group of players have been together for over 13 weeks now, and they’ve shown that they are the right players for this big task against the Pumas,” said Erasmus.
“We’ve chopped and changed our squad a fair bit this season, playing a total of 46 players in our last eight matches, including in the Barbarians match, and by training together almost daily, we are confident that these are the players who can give us the best shot to try to retain the title.”
Springbok squad for the Argentina leg of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship:
Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), 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), 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), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
Backs: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Courtesy of SA Rugby
