Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named an exciting, experienced and very powerful 54-man squad for the upcoming international season, and one that contained plenty of surprises.
While most will have to wait for Erasmus to attend his first international season media conference to find out some more about the thought process behind it, there certainly will be many talking points - including some big names left out of the squad.
𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus has named his 54-man squad that will face the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia in June and July 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/pEx8Ui8oGV
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 5, 2025
The inclusion of utility back Ntokozo Mkhaza made headlines for the second alignment camp and again now as the impressive Varsity Cup star has yet to play any senior professional rugby, and has been contracted to the Toyota Cheetahs for the Currie Cup this season.
While it remains to be seen if he actually is there just to learn as a future prospect or if he will be elevated to a match-day position, there is clearly something that Erasmus sees in him that is exciting for the future.
MOST WORLD CUP WINNERS STILL THERE
One aspect which is interesting - as the debate towards the World Cup in 2027 will continue, is how many of the double World Cup winning squad will make it to Australia in two years time.
The answer to that at the moment is most of them - as Erasmus selected an eye-popping 31 members of that squad for this training squad. There has been an expectation that one or two of the older members of the squad may start to fall by the wayside, but clearly Erasmus wants them there to guide the younger players for the next few months and once the season starts, more answers to this question will start to become apparent.
It’s not hard to understand why older players like Makazole Mapimpi and Willie le Roux - both not expected to make it to the showpiece in Australia, have been exceptional for the Sharks and Bulls respectively and despite their age, will play an important part in the Bok campaign this year.
Le Roux is set-up to get his 100th cap this season and may head into the sunset afterwards, while Mapimpi has already said he won’t be heading to 2027.
There clearly have been a few bolters - as witnessed by the nine uncapped players in the squad. While Mkhaza will continue to get the headlines as the outside from the professional squads, Marnus van der Merwe’s stellar season with Scarlets has been enough to catapult him into the squad ahead of Johan Grobbelaar, who will feel desperately unlucky not to have made it.
ROOS AND GROBBELAAR EXCLUDED
Similarly Evan Roos’ exclusion from the alignment camps has been debated at length, with Juarno Augustus likely to have taken that spot with his exploits for Northampton Saints.
But the other bolter is Renzo du Plessis, who has struggled to find a regular spot in the Emirates Lions squad, but has impressed enough to see him leapfrog some regulars from his side - including the URC’s top jackler JC Pretorius and one-test Springbok Ruan Venter into the Bok training squad.
The other “newcomers” - Sharks loose forward Vincent Tshituka, Bulls lock Cobus Wiese, Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Stormers tighthead Neethling Fouche and Sharks utility back Ethan Hooker - all seemed destined for the Boks in any case and won’t be surprises to many.
Five players were not considered for selection due to injuries: Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie and Trevor Nyakane.
The selection of so many World Cup Springboks is a bit of a surprise in any case - especially as the tests against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia are seen as the perfect time to blood a number of youngsters and bring their test caps up.
Last season the Boks used 50 players, so the big number isn’t unusual and the test will be to see how Erasmus utilises the younger and more inexperienced Bok players, surrounded by double World Cup winners as the season progresses.
EXPERIENCE TO FEATURE VS ALL BLACKS
While the Boks were never likely to go with a totally inexperienced squad, many of the double World Cup winners are likely to feature more heavily in the Rugby Championship when the Boks face New Zealand twice - in Auckland and Wellington in two of the biggest tests of the year.
Of those who were excluded - Roos and Grobbelaar are probably the biggest surprises - while Akker van der Merwe may have been close after some impressive performances for the Bulls.
Youngsters like Bulls lock JF van Heerden, Sharks midfielder Jurenzo Julius, Stormers utility Suleiman Hartzenberg, Lions midfielder Henco van Wyk, Bulls winger Sebastian de Klerk and Stormers hooker Andre-Hugo Venter all were at the alignment camps but missed out and are likely to feature in the future plans of the Boks, but not quite now.
Others that were at the camps and missed out include Phepsi Buthelezi, Joseph Dweba, Embrose Papier and David Kriel.
With the Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks, and Leinster still in the race for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final, along with their teammates from Bath, Leicester Tigers, and the Sale Sharks, who will contest the Gallagher Premiership semifinals this weekend, a staggered approach will be adopted to the players joining the camp.
The available players, which include the full Japan-based contingent following the conclusion of their season, will assemble in Johannesburg on Sunday, 8 June, and begin their on-field preparations on Monday. The remainder of the players will join the squad as they complete their club commitments.
LOADS OF DEPTH AND TALENT
“We were very pleased with the two Springbok alignment camps we hosted, and we are excited to have the luxury of announcing a squad with so much depth and talent,” said Erasmus.
“Having an expanded squad will not only afford us the opportunity to have productive training sessions, but it will also bode well for the younger players in the group to learn from the senior players, many of whom are Rugby World Cup champions.
“We take pride in offering talented young players a chance to work first-hand with the coaches and to expose them to standards at international level, and we are excited to see them showcase their skills at the camp.”
Erasmus added: “We used a total of 50 players last season in an attempt to balance the load on them, while at the same time building towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and with a few more talented youngsters in this group, we hope that they will learn valuable lessons and stake a strong claim for places in what will be a challenging, yet exciting season.”
The squad will train from Monday to Friday, before returning home for the weekend to spend time with their families, and will reassemble on Sunday 15 June for the second week of training, before travelling to Cape Town for the Barbarians match.
The Springboks will meet the Barbarians in their first encounter on South African soil in Cape Town on Saturday 28 June where they will play for the Qatar Airways Cup, which will be followed by back-to-back tests against Italy in Pretoria and Gqeberha on 5 and 12 July, and Georgia in Nelspruit a week later on 19 July.
Bok Squad
Props
Thomas du Toit (Bath)
Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers)
Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
Ntuthuko Mchunu (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Emirates Lions)
Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls)
Hookers
Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)
Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets)
Utility forwards
Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls)
Locks
Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)
Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Jean Kleyn (Munster)
Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)
Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)
Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls)
RG Snyman (Leinster)
Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls)
Loose forwards
Juarno Augustus (Northampton Saints)
Renzo du Plessis (Emirates Lions)
Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls)
Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)
Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls)
Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)
Scrumhalves
Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles)
Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Cobus Reinach (Montpellier)
Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions)
Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Flyhalves
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
Jordan Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers)
Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)
Midfielders
Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)
Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles)
Wingers
Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)
Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath)
Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ntokozo Makhaza (UCT)
Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
Edwilll van der Merwe (Emirates Lions)
Fullbacks
Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Quan Horn (Emirates Lions)
Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls)
Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)
Missing out
Johan Grobbelaar
Evan Roos
Sebastian de Klerk
Phepsi Buthelezi
Joseph Dweba
Andre Hugo Venter
Ruan Venter
Celimpilo Gumede
Akker van der Merwe
JF van Heerden
Jurenzo Julius
Suleiman Hartzenberg
Henco van Wyk
David Kriel
Embrose Papier
Injured
Elrigh Louw
Deon Fourie
Trevor Nyakane
Ben-Jason Dixon
Frans Malherbe