The Vodacom Bulls and the remaining overseas players were set to up with the rest of Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok squad on Monday night and with the group whittled down now to 45 it is possible to start speculating on what the team could look like against the Barbarians and Italy.
The first game against the Barbarians on 28 June is not an official test match with no caps given, but Erasmus said last week that he would be using the game to give a run to players who have yet to play for the Boks.
“The aim will be to get a few guys in who haven’t played for the Boks, but make sure we have enough experience and ability not to get a hiding,” said Erasmus.
“A Barbarians game is a difficult one to plan around. I have coached the Barbarians and a lot of our players have played for them. The Barbarians are all about taking the shackles off and to entertain without consequences.
"You can’t go planning on them as they get together on the Sunday before the game, and they’ve never played together before, so there is no analysis you can do on them.”
BOAN FACES A CHOICE
Erasmus was speaking before his latest selection, with players being dropped from the squad at the weekend and one significant newcomer in Boan Venter, the 26-year-old Edinburgh loosehead prop formerly of the Toyota Cheetahs who only a few days before the latest announcement declared his allegiance to Scotland.
He hasn’t followed Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe’s lead though by representing Scotland as yet because he will only qualify to play for the nation he has lived in since 2022 next year.
Erasmus’ selection may be strategic, in the sense that giving him a game now will mean he is lost to Scotland and will be aligned to his country of birth after that, but there is also a bit of a mini-crisis at loosehead due to injuries to Gerhard Steenekamp and Ntuthuko Mchunu and the retirement of Steven Kitshoff.
Squad update: Rassie Erasmus has called up Boan Venter while releasing a number of players from the #Springboks training group 👊#ForeverGreenForeverGold
— Springboks (@Springboks) June 15, 2025
Venter will only have belatedly joined the camp so it is unlikely he will be selected for the Barbarians game as Erasmus said last week that he doesn’t intend using the Bulls players, and others like Leicester Tigers’ Handre Pollard, Bath’s Thomas du Toit and Leinster’s RG Snyman in the Barbarians game.
“Those players won’t play the Barbarians game as we have been trying a few new things and next week is a bit shorter and then we are going to Cape Town,” said Erasmus from the training camp in Johannesburg last week.
HENDRIKSE BROTHERS LEFT OUT
At least in most of those instances the players are in form - Du Toit has just been part of Bath’s emotional win in the English Premiership, Pollard was solid in the Leicester team that lost the final, and of course Snyman was outstanding when he came on as a replacement against the Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final.
However, there are some exceptions, maybe too many for comfort, and it is interesting to note that Erasmus has made a statement around form with some of his selections. For instance the two Hollywoodbets Sharks halfbacks, the Hendrikse brothers Jaden (scrumhalf) and Jordan (flyhalf) are among a group of players not listed in the injured group but released to their unions.
Much of the Sharks’ failings on attack towards the end of the URC season appeared to revolve around the lack of proper generalship from the players in the game driving positions and by leaving him out Erasmus has sent out an unambiguous message, not just to those two players but also the several other Boks that have been in poor form.
Lukhanyo Am is on the injured list so it is unclear whether Erasmus would have acted on the anonymous performances he turned in for the Sharks in the last few games and left him out but it is likely that if the Sharks had gone through to the URC final the World Cup winning veteran would have been dropped on form for Jurenzo Julius.
There are several other established Boks playing for the Sharks, among them Vincent Koch and even Bongi Mbonambi, who need to show some form in the early parts of the international season.
WILLIE WAS POOR IN THE FINAL
The Leinster defeat was just the first for the Bulls in eight games and getting to the final was in itself a confidence boosting achievement for the Pretoria players, so there are not too many form issues there save for one - Willie le Roux.
The double World Cup winner helped get the Bulls out of a hole a few weeks ago in their first playoff game against Edinburgh, but Le Roux reminded everyone of just how inconsistent he can be by turning in a nightmare performance in the final that cost his team.
There are sentimental reasons, as in his looming 100th cap, plus the role he plays as a mentor to younger players, driving Le Roux’s retention in the squad, but it has to be said his form is a concern.
With Damian Willemse not available for the Barbarians game because his suspension sustained for an illegal tackle playing for the DHL Stormers in the final URC league game will last until the first Italy game, Aphelele Fassi looks set to wear the No 15 against the Barbarians where it will be hoped he can regain some of the attacking confidence we haven’t seen as much of from him with the Sharks since he returned from a mid-season injury.
With the game not being designated international status it would also not add to the Le Roux mission of getting towards that three figure mark in caps even if he wasn’t one of the Bulls players unlikely to be considered for Cape Town. Another fullback, the Emirates Lions’ Quan Horn, was one of the players dropped from the squad.
MAKHAZA’S TIME WILL COME - BUT LATER
The other players left out along with the two Hendrikse brothers were Renzo du Plessis and the UCT winger Ntokozo Makhaza. The latter being omitted was telegraphed last week by Erasmus, who spoke of the bright future the former KZN pupil has ahead of him and said he was pleased to have worked with him these past few weeks but that he might not be ready for international rugby just yet.
“We were worried he might slip the net so we decided we needed to meet the personality,” said the Bok coach.
“We know when we pick up a Currie Cup player it will take a while to get him ready for playing for the Boks and the same can be said for a Varsity Cup player. We think he can play for the Boks, but it might be a bit early now. There was a gap with the Bulls and Sharks players not here, with Kurt-Lee (Arendse) and (Makazole) Mapimpi not here.
“I don’t think him playing international rugby is just around the corner, but he is certainly not way off the pace. He is very close to 92 per cent kicking off the tee and if we don’t look we will never know.”
Having a wing who can kick goals would add a string to the Bok bow in the sense that it will make it easier to accommodate a flyhalf like Manie Libbok who might be inconsistent with his place-kicking. For now though that is on hold.
ROOS COULD BE BLINDSIDE OPTION AGAINST BAABAAS
The retention of Evan Roos while Du Plessis has been released is also interesting, particularly if you recall that the Lions flanker was initially included ahead of the Stormers loose-forward in the squad.
With Pieter-Steph du Toit out with an injury and ditto BJ Dixon, we could well see Roos tried on the blindside flank against the Barbarians. Ruan Nortje has played most of his last few games for the Bulls at No 7 but the Bulls players won’t be in the mix before the first test against Italy in Pretoria a week later.
Revised 45-man Springbok squad:
Props: Thomas du Toit, Ox Nche, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Boan Venter, Vincent Koch, Neethling Fouche, Wilco Louw, Asenathi Ntlabakanye
Hookers: Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx, Marnus van der Merwe
Locks: Eben Etzebeth, Salmaan Moerat, Jean Kleyn, Cobus Wiese, RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, Ruan Nortje, Franco Mostert
Loose forwards: Siya Kolisi, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Evan Roos, Jasper Wiese
Utility forwards: Jean-Luc du Preez, Vincent Tshituka
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk, Grant Williams, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard
Centres: Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel, Ethan Hooker
Outside backs: Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Edwill van der Merwe, Aphelele Fassi, Damian Willemse, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie
Players released due to injuries and will return to their clubs or franchises for rehabilitation:
Lukhanyo Am (knee)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (shoulder)
Cameron Hanekom (hamstring)
Juarno Augustus (back)
Gerhard Steenekamp (knee)
Ntuthuko Mchunu (knee)
Released to Unions:
Jaden Hendrikse
Jordan Hendrikse
Quan Horn
Renzo du Plessis
Ntokozo Makhaza