Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus gave a clearer picture of what his test team will look like ahead of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour after announcing a 26-man squad on Friday to fly to Argentina for next Saturday’s one-off test against Los Pumas.
While the game will primarily serve as a test for several senior players returning from injury, Erasmus also left 17 players from the squad back in South Africa and - as he said last week - allowed them to travel and get ready for the four-test series against the All Blacks which will start on the 22nd of August.
As Erasmus explained then, it would serve no purpose to take the entire squad to Argentina while the All Blacks are acclimatising in South Africa, so there is a real sense that the majority of those 17 players will play a part in the test series when the Boks return.
Just how that final make-up will be determined after the result of the Buenos Aires game, as Erasmus measures several of his stalwarts who have been injured and will return to action for the first time in weeks or months.
SIYA, SFM, EBEN TO RETURN
Already this week Erasmus confirmed that captain Siya Kolisi, kingpin Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the most-capped Bok Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager and Morne van der Berg will all be fit and ready to take on Argentina.
Others, like Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Edwill van der Merwe will get a chance to stage a claim for a starting role in the test matches as well.
Those left behind are expected to form the core of the test squad against the All Blacks. Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel and World Player of the year Malcolm Marx all form part of this group.
Ox Nche and Franco Mostert, who are still struggling with niggles, are also staying in South Africa.
“We tried to get the balance right between giving some guys who are returning from injury and who have not had too much game time in our last four matches a valuable run against Argentina, while at the same time managing the players who have played a lot of rugby this year,” said Erasmus.
“The guys who have recovered from their injuries have been training hard this week and are ready to go, so it will be great for them to get a tough Test match under the belt before we face New Zealand.
NCHE, MOSTERT STILL HAVE NIGGLES
“Several players, meanwhile, have been performing for us week in and week out, so it was important that we manage their workload, while players such as Ox (Nche) and Franco (Mostert) are still on the road to recovery, so next week’s training camp will be useful for them to continue to put in the hard yards and for the injured players to continue their rehabilitation.”
Erasmus added: “Argentina are a quality outfit and we know we will be in for a massive challenge in Buenos Aires, so we are preparing for a physical and gruelling battle over there.
“They are a well-coached team, who have tested us in the last few years, while they have also been competitive in the Nations Championship, so it will be a good test for us as a team.”
Commenting on the training camp this past week, which wrapped up on Thursday afternoon, Erasmus said: “We had a series of productive sessions throughout the week, and all the players know what we expect of them, so everyone understands the importance of building on our season.”
There are also opportunities for the likes of Ben-Jason Dixon, Cameron Hanekom, Cobus Wiese and Marco van Staden among the forwards, Herschel Jantjies, Quan Horn and Aphelele Fassi to put their hands up for a spot in the All Black series.
The match kicks off at 21h00 on Saturday, 8 August, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
SPRINGBOK TRAVELLING SQUAD TO ARGENTINA (in alphabetical order):
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Ben-Jason Dixon, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Siya Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Zachary Porthen, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese.
Backs: Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Quan Horn, Herchel Jantjies, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe.