Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Wednesday named a “purpose and goal-driven” 40-man squad for the team’s second in-person alignment camp in Cape Town next week, featuring two players invited to their first camp in Sibabalwe Mahashe and Zekhethelo Siyaya.
Embrose Papier, Francke Horn, Andre-Hugo Venter, and Henco van Wyk, who have all attended alignment camps in the past, have also been included in the group.
With several experienced national players, who have been in the set-up for several seasons, sidelined due to injury, Erasmus said the purpose of this camp was to expose these players to the team’s structures and systems with an eye on the next two seasons, and beyond.
A second virtual alignment camp will be hosted following the conclusion of this session.
The camp squad – which comprises 25 forwards and 15 backline players – will run from Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 May, and includes 10 uncapped players in Paul de Villiers, Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Mahashe, Riley Norton, Haashim Pead, Siyaya, Emmanuel Tshituka, Van Wyk and Jaco Williams, six of whom were invited to the first alignment camp in March.
“This is an exciting group of players, and it's been pleasing to see them make their presence felt in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and during their teams’ Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup campaigns this season,” said Erasmus.
“This camp will be a good opportunity to expose those invited to our setup and the standards expected of the national coaches.
“We're looking forward to involving Sibabalwe, Zekhethelo, Andre, Embrose, Francke, and Henco at this camp as we continue to build our squad depth.”
Erasmus added: “There are several players who are not currently fit to play, and we look forward to seeing them back in action in the near future, knowing they have a good sense of how the team operates and what will be expected of them when they return.”
GETTING PLAYERS READY TO DELIVER AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Adding context to the camp, Erasmus said: “It's important to be clear about the objective of this alignment camp, and that is to expose these players to our environment, our standards, and the way we operate.
“The players who will not be present, whether through injury or workload, remain in our plans, and each one of them is on his own path with his own set of timelines.
“This week will give us the chance to align those who are fit and firing now with the way we want to operate, so that when an opportunity arises either this year or further down the line, they are ready to step up and deliver at international level.”
The international season will start with a double-header in Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June, when the Boks face the Barbarians and the SA ‘A’ team take on Zimbabwe, before three home 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.
An away test against the Wallabies in Australia (27 September) follows, 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), ahead of the Finals Weekend in London (27 to 29 November).
Players invited to the second in-person Springbok alignment camp:
Forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Neethling Fouche, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Salmaan Moerat, Riley Norton, Zachary Porthen, Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter (all DHL Stormers); Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (all Fidelity Securedrive Lions); Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Vodacom Bulls); Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Emmanuel Tshituka (all Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard (all Vodacom Bulls); Andre Esterhuizen, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams, Jaco Williams (all Hollywoodbets Sharks); Quan Horn, Haashim Pead, Henco van Wyk, Morne van den Berg (all Fidelity Securedrive Lions); Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse (both DHL Stormers).