Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus recalled hooker Johan Grobbelaar to his 28-man squad for their short tour to Argentina where they will face Los Pumas at Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades in Santiago on Saturday 21 September in their penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash.
Erasmus opted to rest seven players who have had a heavy workload in the last few months with an eye on the final round of the competition in Nelspruit against Argentina on Saturday 28 September.
Grobbelaar is back in the squad after participating in the Australian leg of the tournament, where the Boks collected a full house of points, and will cover hooker along with Malcolm Marx and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who can also play prop.
The seven players who will not travel to Argentina are Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Frans Malherbe (prop), Pieter-Steph du Toit (loose forward), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf), Damian de Allende (centre), Cheslin Kolbe (wing), and Willie le Roux (fullback).
All of them will be placed on a specialised training programme to keep them sharp with an eye on rejoining the group in Mpumalanga upon their return from Argentina.
The Springboks currently lead the Castle Lager Rugby Championship standings with 18 points with four victories in as many games, while Argentina are on 10 points, followed by New Zealand (seven) and Australia (four). This means South Africa only need three more log points from their two remaining matches to guarantee their first title since 2019.
Should they achieve this feat it would wrap up a magnificent tournament for the team, after winning the Mandela Challenge Plate against Australia and the Freedom Cup against New Zealand.
“We have been open about our policy to try to give as many players in our wider squad as possible a chance to play against the top teams in the world,” said Erasmus.
“We believe playing against Argentina in Santiago, where we are expecting a massive encounter in front of a hostile crowd, will serve as a great test for this group of players.
“The players we decided to rest have really done their bit this season and their bodies deserve a break, so we thought the best for them would be to enjoy a break and spend time with their families before joining us in Nelspruit.
“All of the players in the 28-man squad have been in the set-up this year and have proved their worth, so we are delighted to give them an opportunity to face Argentina on their home ground.
“Argentina proved last week what a force they can be at home by defeating the Wallabies by 67-27 in Santa Fe, so we know how tough the match will be against them, and this is exactly what we want our players to experience as we continue to build the group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.”
Erasmus named only two specialist hookers in the squad in Grobbelaar and Marx, while Am and Kriel are the only two specialist centres, but he said while Wessels and Marco van Staden could provide cover at hooker, Canan Moodie, who has played in the midfield for the Boks, could provide cover at centre, wing, and fullback.
“This is a short tour, and we are confident that we have sufficient cover in all the positions within this group,” said Erasmus.
“Some players, such as Johan Grobbelaar, Manie Libbok, Jaden Hendrikse, and Canan Moodie – to name a few – will benefit immensely from more game time at this level, while other players such as Aphelele Fassi and Ben-Jason Dixon for example grabbed their chances with both hands this season and we are excited to see them back in action.”
With the Boks in pole position to snap up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title, Erasmus said their main objective was to win the match in Argentina, although he was wary of the threat the hosts posed.
“We know how gruelling it’s going to be over there and that it will take a massive effort to beat Argentina at home,” said Erasmus.
“But as we’ve shown all season, we have full faith in all the players in our wider group and we believe that we have such a wealth of squad depth that any young player can step in and fill the boots of the more experienced players,” said Erasmus.
“Although it will be tough, we want to see what these players can do in such a pressure-cooker of a game, and we are going there with the goal of winning the competition. This squad boasts a good mix of youth and experience, which we feel will bode well for the tour.”
The squad will assemble in Stellenbosch on Wednesday afternoon to begin their preparations for the tour and will depart for Argentina on Saturday.
SPRINGBOK SQUAD FOR ARGENTINA TOUR:
Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls).
Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears).
Locks: Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (Montpellier), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls).
Loose forwards: Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
Utility forward: Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls).
Scrumhalves: Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers).
Centres: Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).
Outside backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Utility back: Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls).