South Africa Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has called up five players to the squad for their final Test of the Castle Lager Incoming Series against Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The updated 41-man squad now features seven uncapped players, reflecting Erasmus’s strategy to build squad depth for future competitions, including the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The squad adjustments come as a result of injuries to lock Franco Mostert and winger Edwill van der Merwe, with the extent of their injuries to be confirmed on Monday. Additionally, centre Damian de Allende has been permitted to exit the camp due to personal reasons.
Erasmus has called up capped Springboks Elrigh Louw (loose forward) and Ntuthuko Mchunu (prop), along with uncapped players Quan Horn (fullback), Andre-Hugo Venter (hooker), and Ruan Venter (loose forward).
These players had previously attended the Bok alignment camps in May and are now integrated into the current squad, which also includes eight of the nine players released to their provincial unions last week to participate in the Carling Currie Cup.
“It was always part of our planning to expose a few players to top-class international rugby against Portugal in line with our objective to build squad depth with an eye on the 2027 Rugby World Cup,” said Erasmus.
“Some of the players had a taste of international rugby against Wales at Twickenham, others received an opportunity off the bench against Ireland, and Andre-Hugo Venter toured with us to London for the Wales Test, so we are delighted with the quality of the players coming through the ranks.”
Erasmus emphasized the importance of the upcoming Test against Portugal, acknowledging their quality and the challenge they present.
“Portugal are a quality team as they showed in the Rugby World Cup last year by defeating Fiji, and we have no doubt they’ll want to make a strong statement against us, so although we may mix things up for this Test, we’ll select a quality team that we have full faith in to get our season back on track.”
The Springboks arrived in the Free State capital on Sunday afternoon and will commence their on-field preparations for the clash on Monday. This comes on the back of a heart-breaking 25-24 defeat against Ireland in Durban on Saturday.
Erasmus revealed that several players would be released on Wednesday once the team concluded their main on-field preparations for the historic Test against Portugal at Toyota Stadium. He highlighted the necessity of managing player workloads effectively, especially with the demanding Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign looming.
This campaign features back-to-back Tests against Australia in Brisbane and Perth (10 and 17 August), two home Tests against New Zealand in Johannesburg and Cape Town (31 August and 7 September), a Test against Argentina in Santiago (21 September), and the final match of the series against the Pumas in Nelspruit (28 September).
“This is a long and challenging season, and as much as it would have been great to win both matches against Ireland, it’s vital that we manage the players well to allow them to regenerate in order to maximise their performances throughout the season,” said Erasmus.
“Those players will have 10 days off, which means they’ll be fresh when they rejoin the squad before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.”
The inclusion of fresh talent and the strategic management of player workloads underline Erasmus’s commitment to both immediate success and long-term planning.
The announcement of the matchday team to face Portugal is eagerly anticipated on Tuesday, as the Springboks aim to close out the series with a strong performance and set a positive tone for the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Source: SA Rugby and Springboks, X
Springbok squad for the match against Portugal:
Props: Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ox Nche (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels (both Vodacom Bulls), Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Thomas du Toit (Bath).
Hookers: Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers).
Locks: Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers), RG Snyman (Leinster).
Loose forwards: Siya Kolisi (Racing 92), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden (both Vodacom Bulls), Phepsi Buthelezi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos (both DHL Stormers), Ruan Venter (Emirates Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers).
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions).
Flyhalves: Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok (both DHL Stormers).
Centres: Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).
Outside backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Quan Horn (Emirates Lions).
