Winners and losers: Springboks squad in ‘rude health’ as Rassie Erasmus is bolstered by ‘world-class’ returnees while Evan Roos is snubbed for All Blacks
Springboks Evan Roos, Edwill van der Merwe, Malcolm Marx and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Rassie Erasmus has named his squad for the highly anticipated Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series against the All Blacks as well as the Test match against Argentina next month. Here are our winners and losers from his 43 selections.
The Springboks head coach adopted what has been described as a ‘strategic approach’ to the next batch of international matches, naming a group of players who will gather in Johannesburg to begin preparations for the clash in Buenos Aires while releasing five players to play against New Zealand for their franchises.
Meanwhile, one player has been put on standby as he is released from the squad to settle at his new club while the Boks have been significantly boosted by several players returning from injury.
So let’s dive into our winners and losers from Erasmus’ Springboks squad for the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series.
Winners
10 Returning Springboks
During the Nations Championship, 43 players represented South Africa in the victories over England, Scotland and Wales, respectively. However, that number could have been significantly higher had it not been for the long injury list heading into the July internationals and setbacks suffered in training and against the Baa-Baas.
That list has been cut down significantly and at a crucial time for Erasmus and his coaching team, who have been bolstered by the return to fitness for no less than 10 players. Three players headline the returnees – Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – but the other seven are no less noteworthy.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu spent much of last year in the number 10 jersey for the Boks and was particularly brilliant in the clash against Los Pumas in Durban. A setback during the final knockings of the Stormers’ season denied him the opportunity to continue that run, but thankfully for the Boks, his injury isn’t as bad as initially feared, and he will be returning in time for the Tests against the All Blacks. In fact, he could be raring to go against the Pumas in Buenos Aires.
Meanwhile, Kolisi and Etzebeth were both late withdrawals from the team to face England at Ellis Park in round one of the Nations Championship but have seemingly recovered from their setbacks to crack the squad and could well be on the plane to South America, the latter being a massive boost to the second row stocks while the former will be itching to get out on the park after Paul de Villiers’ excellence in his absence – more on that shortly.
Lock has been an area of real concern for Erasmus so far this international season, but Etzebeth’s return, paired with that of Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert, is simply mammoth for the team. The trio’s inclusion means that South Africa’s second-row depth has been bolstered by 298 international caps worth of experience. Etzebeth-De Jager and Etzebeth-Mostert also ranked as the second and third most capped lock combinations for the Springboks, having packed down together on 42 and 32 occasions respectively. RG Snyman’s absence will still be felt, but with the three World Cup winners back in the mix with Cobus Wiese and Ruan Nortje firing, the lock stocks are in rude health once again.
Erasmus will also have a healthy fly-half headache with Handre Pollard recovering from his hamstring strain, returning with Feinberg-Mngomezulu, while the same is true at scrum-half with Morne van den Berg recalled to the squad. Van den Berg has usurped Embrose Papier in the squad after he was sidelined for the latter stages of the Lions’ season.
Finally, the coaching team will be pleased that utility backs Ethan Hooker and Canan Moodie are fit and firing, as is hybrid Andre Esterhuizen – who sustained a cheekbone injury that thankfully didn’t require surgery.
Vusi Moyo
Even after a promising debut against Wales in Durban, Erasmus wouldn’t have been lambasted for dropping Vusi Moyo from the squad considering that Pollard and Feinberg-Mngomezulu are back in the mix.
The 20-year-old pivot does have just two professional matches worth of experience under his belt, including his debut, and while he did impress, the head coach said he did look nervous at times. However, the coaching team clearly wants to nurture the young Sharks star who has the raw potential for a long career in Green and Gold.
Simply having him in and around the squad is hugely valuable for him individually but also for the squad, particularly if there are setbacks in the position. The only slight drawback for Moyo is that if he doesn’t feature in any of the four Tests against the All Blacks, he may well miss his opportunity to feature for the Sharks against Dave Rennie’s charges.
Paul de Villiers
Paul de Villiers impressed in the absence of Kolisi, doing the famous number six jersey justice in his shifts against England, Scotland and Wales, earning the man of the match award in the latter.
At the start of this year, many will have tipped the Stormers tyro to make his Test debut in 2026, and his chances of doing so only increased following the injury to Kwagga Smith, but when the opportunity arose, he didn’t just seize it but thrived.
The former Junior Boks captain has been lathered with praise for his shifts in July from some of the strongest voices in the game and rightly so, he was magnificent. His rise has been meteoric, and his fight turns from trying to stay in the squad to bidding for a place in the matchday 23.
Vincent Tshituka
Versatility matters to the Springboks coaches and that is evident in Vincent Tshituka’s selection with the Sharks leader able to feature in the back and second-row. This is particularly valuable in training as much as it is in the matchday 23. The 27-year-old earned selection through his club form and while he was solid in leading South Africa A against Zimbabwe, he wasn’t near his best against Scotland in Pretoria.
Still, his lineout prowess, ability on the gain line and leadership qualities making him a real asset to the Boks now and going forward.
Elrigh Louw
While Tshituka didn’t shine at Loftus, the Sheriff did and has earned his place in the squad for the Springboks’ biggest Test matches before the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Elrigh Louw was initially left out of the squad with Evan Roos and Tshituka favoured, but he has muscled his way past the latter in the pecking order to clinch a spot in the team after being called up following the injury to Riley Norton. The Bulls forward’s form upon his return from a career-threatening injury hasn’t been fantastic, but against Scotland, he looked to be back to his abrasive and effective self.
Louw was a regularly in the Boks’ 23 in 2024 but missed the entirety of last year due to the aforementioned setback and now has the chance to cement himself again. Like Tshituka, he offers versatility across the back-five forward positions too.
Johan Grobbelaar
Johan Grobbelaar has been in and out of the Springboks squad since making his Test bow in 2024 with Erasmus and co. testing the depth of the hooker selection pool. The Bulls star does look to be separating himself from the pack though and could well become the first-choice behind Malcolm Marx.
Hooker has been a position where the Boks have been willing to take risks, and Grobbelaar could have easily been overlooked with Marco van Staden and Jan-Hendrik Wessels listed as utility forwards in the official squad release.
Carlu Sadie
Earned an official debut against the Barbarians in the first Springboks game of the year and equipped himself well. However, after shedding a tear during the national anthem in Durban, Carlu Sadie brutally dismantled Wales’ scrum in his full Test debut.
That was the cherry on top of an incredible journey to realising his dream of donning the Green and Gold that went via Hoërskool Bellville, the Stormers, Lions, Stade de Francais, Sharks and Bordeaux Begles. Not to mention a life-threatening injury sustained in January last year.
Now he potentially gets a shot at the All Blacks in a position where the Springboks are incredibly well-stocked. The 29-year-old will compete with the likes of Thomas du Toit, Wilco Louw and Zach Porthen for the coveted number three and 18 jerseys, but one should only write the heavyweight prop off at their own peril.
Stormers
The Stormers are the biggest benefactors from Erasmus’ squad selection as John Dobson will have three of his ace forwards at his disposal for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series opener at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
Ntuthuko Mchunu, Evan Roos and Andre-Hugo Venter were pivotal in the Stormers’ URC and Champions Cup campaigns last season and have been released by the Boks to feature against the touring All Blacks, with the Sharks and Bulls welcoming back one player apiece.
It’s a major boost for Dobbo and co. with the trio playing in crucial positions too, and will undoubtedly make a huge difference for the side as they bid to knock over Rennie’s men.
Rassie Erasmus
We’ve said before, but we’ll say it again. The strength in depth that the Springboks have at their disposal is frankly outrageous. Rassie Erasmus is in a truly luxurious position where he has lost the services of one of the best locks in the game in the form of RG Snyman but still has three world-class World Cup-winning locks to call upon. He also has arguably the best young number 10 in the world back from injury, who will compete against talents like Libbok, Pollard and Moyo for the number 10 jersey.
Few countries would be able to really handle the long-term absence of a prop of Frans Malherbe’s quality, but instead of depleting tighthead stocks, the Boks are thriving.
While plenty of credit must go to the school system and franchises that South Africa has, Erasmus has done a fair bit of the groundwork himself after creating the EPD (Elite Player Development) program that he is currently reaping the rewards from.
According to a report by Afrikaans publication Rapport, more than 80% of the Nations Championship squad came through that system that Erasmus created with Jacques Nienaber back in 2013. Much of that squad has remained in the mix for the Argentina and All Blacks matches.
He has since played a role in recruiting the right people to run that program, with SA Rugby General Manager Dave Wessels, who has also been heavily involved, hailing the work of Louis Koen, Herman Masimla and Nico Serfontein as well as Junior Boks boss Kevin Foote.
Catch 22
Ruben van Heerden
After making his Test debut against Wales, Ruben van Heerden has been released from the squad but placed on stand-by for the Springboks – a position where he isn’t really a winner or a loser.
On one hand, he will be pleased that he is very much on the fringe of the squad and is being allowed to settle in at Montpellier, his new home after leaving the Stormers at the end of the season. However, he would surely have been more eager to try to move up the pecking order and remain with the Boks.
Unfortunately, with De Jager, Etzebeth and Mostert all back, Van Heerden was always likely to be released from the squad, but the ‘stand-by’ listing does soften the blow somewhat.
Losers
URC franchises
It was always going to happen that the Springboks were going to be put first and that the URC franchises would be tackling the All Blacks without their star players. So it comes as no surprise that Erasmus has retained a large squad and released a handful of players to do duty against Rennie’s charges.
The Sharks do get Jaco Williams back, a fair boost, but will be without Moyo, who would have liked to feature in their matchday 23. Still, they will be without several frontline players for their Tuesday night meeting with the New Zealanders.
The Lions are the least affected, with just Quan Horn missing from their stocks, but it’s worth remembering that he started every one of their URC fixtures last season. More players could well be released closer to their respective matches, but we certainly hope we won’t see completely one-sided affairs like the ones that have occurred for British and Irish Lions tours.
Evan Roos
Given the opportunity to start against Scotland, Evan Roos didn’t rise to the occasion in the way the Springboks’ coaches wanted, which is evident by his snub. He has been released to the Stormers, where he has the opportunity to impress against the All Blacks in their opening game in South Africa. However, Roos is quite clearly just not hitting the markers the coaches want.
He was initially selected ahead of Louw, but the Bulls star replaced him at Loftus against Scotland and now displaced him in the squad, much like what occurred in 2024.
As talented as Roos is and as well as he performs for the Stormers, he remains behind Jasper Wiese and others in the pecking order for the number eight jersey, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. In fact, it may well be getting worse with Cameron Hanekom in the mix too.
Embrose Papier
Recalled to the squad for the first time since 2018, Erasmus’ first stint as head coach, the Bulls star hardly had a poor outing against Scotland. It’s been theorised that his lift and pause before passing has been one of the habits that is keeping him out of the squad.
If that is the reason for his omission, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but it would be understandable that such a small detail could be the deciding factor.
Victims of Springboks’ front-row depth
Ntuthuko Mchunu and Andre-Hugo Venter have been released to the Stormers, simply falling victim to the incredible depth that the Springboks have in the front row. For any other nation, the duo would quite possibly be in the double digits for Test appearances, but South Africa has arguably the greatest front-row depth of any other nation.
Jaco Williams
A dream Test debut was not enough for Jaco Williams to retain his place in the Springboks squad as he too simply couldn’t usurp the more experienced wingers in the squad. There is absolutely no shame in that, and we have certainly not seen the last of the 21-year-old Sharks flyer. Watch this space.
Injured players
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry will only take place in South Africa every eight years if the concept survives, which frankly we can’t see why it wouldn’t. For a players like Jean Kleyn, Snyman and Malherbe, they may never get the opportunity to pull on the Green and Gold in the series on home soil.
Riley Norton may well even captain the Boks in the series in 2034; it’s far too soon to tell, but there are a plethora of players like Kwagga Smith, Salmaan Moerat and others who are simply unlucky that injuries have struck. That is a reality of professional sport, unfortunately.
READ MORE: Stuart Barnes makes bold ‘the end’ prediction for Siya Kolisi regarding Springboks captaincy
