Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has been true to form in his first selection of the new international season, as in addition to four newcomers getting their first feel of the green and gold in the matchday squad, he has also sprung a surprise at flyhalf.
Quan Horn, normally a fullback with the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, will wear the No 10 jersey against the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday in what can be seen as a bold attempt to look at another potential option in a position where there are injuries and a few unavailabilities at present.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is, of course, injured and will only return just in time for The Greatest Rivalry Series against the All Blacks. Handre Pollard is overseas with the Vodacom Bulls, preparing for Friday night’s Vodacom URC final, while Manie Libbok, the other option at pivot, has just returned from Japan.
There is no Damian Willemse, who’d be another flyhalf option, in either the Bok squad or the South African A squad selected for the curtain-raiser against Zimbabwe, which could be down to him having had a busy season with the DHL Stormers and in need of a rest.
𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus names his #Springboks team to face the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday afternoon 🇿🇦#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/KV2Nvc6hiN
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 16, 2026
Some players who haven’t seen much action will be using the Barbarians game to get back into rugby, namely the Hollywoodbets Sharks backline duo of fullback Aphelele Fassi and Grant Williams, plus several players who will be using the game to get up to speed with international level after their months in Japan.
There won’t be Bok caps awarded for the Gqeberha game because it is not an official test match, but the players selected do get their Bok colours, so there are new Boks in the group in the form of SA under-20 captain Riley Norton, Bordeaux’s Carlu Sadie, Stormers hooker JJ Kotze, Stormers flank Paul de Villiers and Sharks flyhalf Vusi Moyo. The latter three are on the reserve bench.
The selection of Norton to start in the second row alongside the experienced Franco Mostert is a positive call given that lock has been one of the areas where there have been a few injury clouds and questions about depth this season.
Like after the last international season, when Zachary Porthen was selected for the first time to bolster the number of Bok props Stormers coach John Dobson had on his books, he now has an extra Bok lock in his ranks, as well as, for that matter, an extra Bok hooker in the form of Kotze.
EXPERIMENTAL BOK SELECTIONS
There are some interesting experimental selections through both teams, with the South Africa A side to play Zimbabwe featuring Vincent Tshituka, who is normally a flank or No8, as a lock. Of course he has played there on several occasions for the Sharks. Tshituka will captain the A team, while his now former Sharks teammate Siya Kolisi will take the leadership reins of the Bok side.
While there is so much young talent loaded into the two groups it is hard to list them all, there are also some experienced veterans making a return to the national setup for the first time in a while - Bok World Cup winner Lukhanyo Am will partner the talented young Markus Muller in the SA A midfield, while another World Cup winner in Faf de Klerk is the reserve scrumhalf in the Bok side.
The SA A side is mainly particularly youthful, however, and there are several young players there who either made their name for the winning Junior Springbok team last year, as in scrumhalf Haashim Pead, wing Jaco Williams, flanker Barthobele Hlekani and reserve prop Oliver Reid, or in the case of Luan Giliomee and Zekhethelo Siyaya they did well when blooded by the Sharks in the recent URC season.
Springbok team to play Barbarians: Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Edwill van der Merwe, Quan Horn, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Franco Mostert, Riley Norton, Carlu Sadie, Andre-Hugo, Ox Nche.
Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos, Faf de Klerk, Vusi Moyo.
South Africa A to play Zimbabwe: Luan Giliomee, Jaco Williams, Markus Muller, Lukhanyo Am, Zekhethelo Ziyaya, Yaqeen Ahmed, Haashim Pead, Phepsi Buthelezi, Bathobele Hlekani, Emmanuel Tshituka, Ruben van Heerden, Vincent Tshituka, Neethling Fouche, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Boan Venter.
Replacements: Liam van Wyk, Oliver Reid, Hanro Jacobs, Adre Smith, Siba Mahashe, Nico Steyn, Imad Khan, Jurenzo Julius.