Rassie Erasmus’ first national alignment camp of the new year has a strong succession planning element to it as the two time Rugby World Cup winning coach has called up a group that doesn’t just appear to have next year’s global tournament in mind but the cycle that comes after that.
Apart from the players you’d expect to see in the 49-man group that has been invited to the camp in Cape Town, which will start next week Tuesday, 3 March, and run through to Friday, 6 March, five of last year’s winning Junior Springbok under-20 team have been included, as well as two members of the 2025 national under-18 team - the Paarl Gimnasium captain Markus Muller and Oakdale strongman Kai Pratt.
Muller, described as a freak of nature and rated by many regular astute school rugby watchers as one of the finest players ever at that level of rugby, is a centre currently contracted to the Stormers.
He has yet to play a senior game for the franchise, but in a recent press conference the Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu spoke highly about Muller and the ease with which he had slotted into Stormers training sessions and what he described as the youngster’s maturity.
It appears that national coach Erasmus is also a fan, as he is of Pratt, who has been signed by the Hollywoodbets Sharks. Both Muller and Pratt are with the Junior Boks, the SA under-20 team, on their current tour of Georgia.
Last year’s Junior World Championship-winning captain Riley Norton (utility forward), and his SA Under-20 teammates from last year, Cheswill Jooste (utility back) and Siphosethu Mnebelele (hooker) are other 2025 Junior Boks currently on the Georgia tour who will be part of next week’s alignment camp.
Jooste, who has played URC and Champions Cup rugby for the Bulls, Haashim Pead, the scrumhalf who was such a hit in last year’s winning Junior Bok effort and has done well for the Lions at URC level already, as well as another Lions player from last season’s under-20 group in Bathobele Hlekani (utility forward), will all attend their first Bok alignment camp after having trained with the Boks for a week in Johannesburg last season.
It has been repeated often enough by Erasmus that being called up to an alignment camp is not the same as being called up by the Boks, and there are many players who have been part of alignment squads over the past few years who are yet to play for the Boks.
But for the young players it will still be a big boost to them as it is an indication that they have been identified as players with the potential to graduate to senior international rugby.
MALHERBE INCLUDED
There are 14 Rugby World Cup winners in the group that will attend the alignment camp, including significantly Frans Malherbe, the Stormers’ double RWC winning tighthead.
Malherbe has not played for the Boks since the 2023 World Cup and has yet to play for the Stormers this season due to neck and back injuries, has been included in the group along with some other currently injured players, such as his franchise captain Salmaan Moerat.
In addition to the youngsters already mentioned, the other players who secured their first invite to a Springbok alignment camp are Emmanuel Tshituka (utility forward), Jaco Williams (wing), Paul de Villiers (flanker), and Zachary Porthen (prop), who made his test debut against Japan late last year.
The camp will include a series of boardroom and gymnasium sessions where the national coaches will brief their players on their plans and expected standards for the season as the team prepares to build toward the 2027 Rugby World Cup, while it will also offer some of the younger players valuable insight into the senior national set-up.
The in-person camp will be followed by a virtual alignment camp with 21 overseas-based players.
ERASMUS EAGER TO EXPOSE YOUNG TALENT TO STRUCTURES
Erasmus was pleased with the make-up of the squad and said, “This is an exciting group of players who have all made a strong statement for their respective provincial unions, and we are delighted to have some of the finest young talent in the country attending the camp to expose them to our environment and structures.
“Bathobele, Haashim, and Cheswill trained with us for a few days last year, and we saw how valuable that experience was for them, so hopefully, all the young players and those attending their first alignment camp will also gain a greater understanding of how the team operates.”
Looking at the forthcoming season, Erasmus said the team’s planning was at an advanced stage and that they looked forward to working with the players with the international season kicking off on Saturday, 20 June against the Barbarians in Gqeberha.
“The coaches and management staff have been working around the clock to ensure that we are as prepared as possible for what will be a challenging season, and all the operational and logistical aspects are in place for everything to run as smoothly as possible, so we are excited for the season ahead,” said the Bok coach.
“The next step is to start working with the players and getting them into the swing of things, so we are delighted about this opportunity to get everyone aligned.”
The Boks will host a second alignment camp in May. The Barbarians fixture will be followed by three local matches in the Nations Championship, against England in Johannesburg (4 July), Scotland in Pretoria (11 July), and Wales in Durban (18 July).
They will then meet Argentina in Buenos Aires (8 August), and the All Blacks in four tests in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in August and September.
This will be followed by an away test against the Wallabies in Australia (27 September), before the second leg of the Nations Championship kicks off in Europe, with matches against Italy (7 November), France (13 November), and Ireland (21 November), before the Finals Weekend in London (27 to 29 November).
Players invited to the first Springbok alignment camp of 2026:
Forwards: Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Kai Pratt, Emmanuel Tshituka, Vincent Tshituka (all Hollywoodbets Sharks), Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Siphosethu Mnebebele, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Cobus Wiese, Jan-Hendrik Wessels (all Vodacom Bulls), Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Neethling Fouche, Frans Malherbe, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Salmaan Moerat, Riley Norton, Zachary Porthen, Evan Roos (all DHL Stormers), Bathobele Hlekani, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruan Venter (all Lions).
Backs: Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker, Makazole Mapimpi, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams, Jaco Williams (all Hollywoodbets Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sebastian de Klerk, Cheswill Jooste, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard (all Vodacom Bulls), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Markus Muller, Cobus Reinach, Damian Willemse (all DHL Stormers), Quan Horn, Haashim Pead, Morne van den Berg (all Lions).