That Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus thinks that the 20-year-old Riley Norton has a big future in the game was underlined when the former national junior cricket star followed up his excellent performance against the Barbarians with inclusion in the squad for the forthcoming Nations Championship.
Ditto the young Hollywoodbets Sharks flyhalf Vusi Moyo, who was one of the stars of last year’s Junior Springbok team but has only played one game at senior level for his franchise. Moyo, who is still Under-20, came on in the last quarter of the game against the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha and Erasmus said afterwards he was impressed with how calm he was in executing the game plan.
Moyo is one of three specialist flyhalves in the squad, the others being Handre Pollard, who returns to the group after playing for the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom URC final, and Japan based Manie Libbok.
Norton produced a busy and solid performance in his first ever game of senior rugby - he hasn’t even played for his franchise, the DHL Stormers, yet - and capped it with a try as the Boks ran out 80-31 victors over a Barbarians team that was far more competitive in Gqeberha on Saturday than the one that lost 54-7 in Cape Town last year.
NORTON SELECTION CREATES A PROBLEM FOR SA UNDER-20 CHALLENGE
It was Norton’s first appearance in the green and gold at senior level but there were no caps awarded for the games against the Barbarians but it appears with his inclusion in the 46-man squad for the Nations Championship that becoming a test Bok is now fairly imminent. If that does come to pass it will be the second year in a row that a Stormers contracted player will become a fully fledged international before his career at club level has really got going, as prop Zachary Porthen, who has vindicated Erasmus’ faith and retains his place in the current squad, did it last year.
Like Porthen, Norton has been a Junior Springbok captain, although there is a significant difference in Norton’s case - he is in fact the current SA under-20 captain and formed a big part of coach Kevin Foote’s planning for the forthcoming Junior World Cup to be played from the end of the month. Foote is clearly going to have to find a new captain, and for that matter flyhalf as his other flyhalf, Yaqeen Ahmed, was red carded in the SA A team’s 40-0 win over Zimbabwe in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium curtain-raiser and could face a suspension that could limit his involvement at the Junior World Cup.
Another potential flyhalf option for Foote, the Sharks’ Zekhethule Siyaya, was severely concussed during the second half of the SA A game, but Luan Giliomee, who played fullback for the SA second string team, can also play pivot.Adding to the depth is the rich pool of utility players, which was one of the significant features of the group that was named late on Saturday night.
There is strong depth in the Bok squad called up and particularly rich depth when it comes to players with utility value. There are six utility forwards listed on the squad sheet, with Norton being one of them. It has long been hypothesised that Erasmus may see Norton’s future at blindside flank and that is given some teeth in his listing as a lock/loose-forward.
PIETER-STEPH COVERING LOCK AS WELL AS FLANK
As a reminder that Erasmus foresees a potential problem with depth at lock heading into what will be a busy and difficult season for the world champions, Pieter-Steph du Toit has also been listed as a utility forward. Of course the double World Rugby Player of the Year started off his career in the second row and is a world class player when he wears the No 4 or No 5, but it has been a while since he has played there.
The other utility forwards are Franco Mostert (lock/flank), Marco van Staden (loose-forward/hooker), Cobus Wiese (lock/flank) and Jan-Hendrik Wessels (prop/hooker). The last mentioned three players are all returning to the national squad for the Rugby Championship after missing out on the two week camp building up the Barbarians game because of their commitment to the Vodacom Bulls’ appearance in the Vodacom URC final that was played the night before the Boks and South Africa A sides were in action.
It is interesting to note that Sharks player Vincent Tshituka has been selected as a loose-forward although he captained the SA A side from the second row in the Gqeberha curtain-raiser and said afterwards that he was eager to continue learning as a lock. So he's another utility option although not listed as such.
HORN SHOWED HE CAN BRING UTILITY VALUE
There’s also plenty of utility value in the players listed among the backs, with eight players in a group headed ‘utility and outside backs’. The group includes Quan Horn, who pleased Erasmus with the way he adapted to his trial position of flyhalf against the Barbarians.
“Quan was run over for the first Barbarians try but we know he is a very good defender so we are not too worried about that. I thought he had a good game,” said Erasmus after the 12 try romp against the Barbarians.
Horn’s new found ability to switch between his regular position of fullback and flyhalf means that he can fit into the Bok planning around the six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench that has now almost become a norm. Of course Damian Willemse, who was rested for the Barbarians game, also doubles his role as starting fullback with flyhalf and inside centre.
The potential for either to play flyhalf in an emergency was aided in the Barbarians game by the five star place-kicking display from wing Cheslin Kolbe (who can also play fullback and at a push scrumhalf) in Gqeberha. Willemse is more used to place kicking than Horn is but he is regarded as inconsistent so having Kolbe on the field as back-up will ease concerns should he have to wear the No 10.
BOK COACH DEFENDS POLLARD
That possibility has been strengthened by the poor form shown by Handre Pollard for the Bulls in the knock-out phase of the URC, although he is in the group and Erasmus did mount a vigorous defence of his double World Cup winning pivot at the post-match press conference.
“It is difficult to judge a player who doesn’t play well for his franchise team but does well for you. We haven’t worked with Handre for a while, maybe when he returns to us he will be back in his best form again. He’s never let us down in the past,” said the Bok coach.
Nonetheless Erasmus’ decision not to play Manie Libbok against the Barbarians mainly because he was concerned about the potential for injury does indicate some concern on his part. If Libbok goes down, Pollard will be the only experienced specialist flyhalf left in the group given the absence of the injured Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
There are six uncapped players in the squad, with Moyo and his Sharks teammate Jaco Williams, also a utility back as although primarily a wing he has played a lot of his rugby at fullback, the newcomers at the back. Paul de Villiers (flanker), Norton (lock/loose forward), Ruben van Heerden (lock) and Carlu Sadie (prop) are the four uncapped forwards.
JANTJIES JOINS PAPIER BY RETURNING
Scrumhalf Herchel Jantjies, who was a member of the 2019 Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning squad, also makes a notable return for the first time since his last appearance in the green and gold in August 2023 against Argentina.
The Bulls players added to the squad after their URC seasons ended are Johan Grobbelaar (hooker), Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp (both props), Ruan Nortje (lock), Van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (utility forwards), Cameron Hanekom (No 8), Embrose Papier (scrumhalf), Pollard (flyhalf), Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing), and Canan Moodie (utility back).
Papier, who was named the SA Vodacom URC player of the Season, played the last of his seven test matches in 2018, making this his first appearance in the Springbok squad in eight years.
Thomas du Toit (prop) also returns to the squad after completing his season with English club Bath.
The match against England that kicks off the Bok Nations Championship campaign will be followed by clashes against Scotland in Pretoria (11 July) and Wales in Durban (18 July) before the Boks travel to Buenos Aires to play a one-off test against Los Pumas (8 August).
RASSIE PLEASED WITH THE QUALITY
“We are pleased with the quality of the group we have selected, and it’s also exciting to see the next generation of players coming through in Riley, Vusi, Paul, Carlu, Ruben and Jaco,” said Erasmus.
“They all proved against the Barbarians and for the SA ‘A’ team that they have what it takes to play at the highest level, and as coaches, we are fortunate that we’ve had the opportunity to work with them in the last two weeks. They are all familiar with the way the Springbok environment operates, the standards expected at this level, and they have shown that they are comfortable in the set-up, so we are excited for them to make this step-up.”
He added that the two returnees at scrumhalf, Papier and Jantjies, had “ made strong statements with their performances this season, and we are looking forward to welcoming them back in the squad.”
The squad will depart for Johannesburg on Sunday morning to resume their training camp, with the Junior Springbok players set to join their teammates for their preparations for the showpiece in Georgia, while the other players will return to their respective provincial unions.
Springbok squad for the Nations Championship:
Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Ntuthuko Mchunu (DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers), Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh).
Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers).
Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers).
Loose forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon (both DHL Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
Utility forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Riley Norton (DHL Stormers), Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Vodacom Bulls).
Scrumhalves: Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls), Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls).
Centres: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).
Outside and utility backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Quan Horn (Fidelity Securedrive Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Williams (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).