Boks call up Bulls duo after Wessels withdrawal

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has had to make an enforced change to the 34-man squad to tour Europe in November, after utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels was forced out with an ankle injury.

Erasmus has subsequently decided to call up two of Wessels’ teammates - hooker Johan Grobbelaar and prop Wilco Louw - for the three test tour where the Boks will face Scotland, England and Wales.

Wessels suffered an ankle injury in the Bulls loss in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship against Scarlets last Friday.

The call up for Louw has been a long time coming, and he has been a part of a massive setpiece force for the Bulls in the URC, and has been knocking on the Bok door for more than a season now.

Louw was named on the standby list for the Ireland tests earlier this year and has played 14 tests for the Boks, the last one being in 2021.

Grobbelaar, meanwhile, has been a regular member of the Bok squad this season and started the tests against Portugal in Bloemfontein and Australia in Perth.

Their inclusion in the group increases the number of players in the squad to 35 – comprising 19 forwards and 16 backs.

“It’s always sad to lose a player to injury and we wish Jan-Hendrik all the best on his road to recovery, but this opens up the door for Johan and Wilco to make their mark against quality opposition in Scotland, England and Wales,” said Erasmus.

“Jan-Hendrik offered us the luxury of serving as a prop and hooker, but with his versatility out of the picture, we decided to call up a specialist prop and hooker.

“Johan has been part of the squad this season and is really growing in his role and in the team, while Wilco has been delivering consistently superb performances for the Vodacom Bulls this season, and he has been knocking on the door for a while now, so I have no doubt he will want to grab this chance with both hands.

“We are certainly excited to see what they bring to the squad, while Wilco’s inclusion also adds to our player stocks as we continue to build our squad depth.”

22 of the 34 players in the Springboks' #AutumnNationSeries squad are playing their rugby in the #VURC tournament 👀 pic.twitter.com/wc9SQq6haF

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 24, 2024

The Springboks will depart for a training camp in Jersey, the largest of the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France, on Sunday 27 October. The group will then make the journey to Edinburgh on Sunday 3 November for their opening test of the tour.

The Boks will face Scotland in Edinburgh (Sunday 10 November), England in London (Saturday 16 November) and Wales in Cardiff (Saturday 23 November) on their traditional end-of-year tour.

Updated Springbok squad for the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour:

Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls).

Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks).

Locks: Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), RG Snyman (Leinster).

Loose forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks), Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

Scrumhalves: Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).

Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers).

Centres: Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).

Outside backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).