Springboks squad: Double World Cup winners dropped as Rassie Erasmus shuffles pack with uncapped prop included
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named hooker Bongi Mbonambi in his standby list.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has named a 36-man squad that includes one uncapped player, with a further 10 on standby for their tour to the northern hemisphere.
Former Junior Springbok prop Zachary Porthen is the newbie selected by Erasmus while there are four players who will return to the senior set-up for the first time this year.
Included on the standby list is uncapped Ulster and former World Rugby U20 Championship Player of the Tournament, Juarno Augustus, and Bulls wing Sebastian de Klerk.
Two-time World Cup winners Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch and Willie le Roux have seemingly fallen down the pecking order for the tour, with hooker included on the standby list while prop Koch and full-back Le Roux miss out entirely. There is also no place in the touring party for hooker Marnus van der Merwe.
Five Tests on the schedule
The Boks face Japan in the first of five Tests on consecutive Saturdays at Wembley Stadium in London on November 1 before France at Stade de France in Paris (November 8), Italy at the Allianz Stadium, Turin (November 15), Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin (November 22) and Wales at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff (November 29).
Former Junior Bok skipper Porthen, who made his Stormers’ United Rugby Championship bow in May this year and is currently on tour with the team in Italy, is the only uncapped player in the 36-man squad, who will depart for London in different groups from their respective franchises and clubs on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Ben-Jason Dixon (flanker), Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Gerhard Steenekamp (prop) will make their first appearances for the team this season, while Jean Kleyn (lock), who suffered an injury during the team’s first game of 2025 against the Barbarians, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Edwill van der Merwe (both wings), are all back from injury.
The squad includes 21 forwards and 15 backline players, while the standby list features seven forwards – Augustus (number eight), Neethling Fouche (prop), Mbonambi (hooker), Salmaan Moerat (lock), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), Evan Roos (number eight), and Vincent Tshituka (utility forward) – and three backs in Lukhanyo Am (centre), De Klerk (utility back) and Makazole Mapimpi (wing).
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is in line to become only the ninth South African Test centurion on the tour after racking up his 98th Test cap in the team’s 29-27 victory against Argentina in their final Rugby Championship match at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, earlier this month, which saw the Boks clinch the southern hemisphere title for the second time in a row.
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Among the injured players not considered for selection are Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Frans Malherbe, Trevor Nyakane, Jean-Luc du Preez and Aphelele Fassi.
“We are excited about the makeup of this squad,” said Erasmus. “Most of the players in the group have been with us throughout the season, while others are back from injury or have done the job for us before in the last few years.
“It’s also great to see a young player like Zachary, who has emerged through our junior structures, come through the ranks into the senior set-up, and we are excited to see what he can do at this level.”
Erasmus added: “With five tough matches lined up, we always planned to select a manageable squad, and we have a solid bunch of players on standby, some of whom have been with us during stages this season, and uncapped players such as Sebastian and Juarno, who have continued to impress us with their performances.
“With Neethling and Salmaan currently in the process of returning from injury, it’s important for us that they get more game time for their Vodacom URC franchises, which was the main reason for excluding them from the 36-man squad.
“Obviously, players not included on the standby list could also be called up should the need arise.”
Looking ahead at the tour, Erasmus admitted that while it would be challenging given the quality of the opposition they will be facing, the team was eager to get back on the field.
“It’s a longer tour than usual and we are facing top-class opposition, but we are looking forward to it,” he said.
“Ireland and France are currently ranked third and fourth in the world, while Italy, Wales, and Japan are in 10th, 12th and 13th place, and we’ve seen in the last few years that you cannot write off any team.
“Ireland and France are always tough opposition, and they both won four out of their five Six Nations matches, with France emerging as the eventual champions, and we know how challenging it is to beat them both at home.
“Japan have beaten us before, Italy put up a good fight against us earlier this year in Pretoria, and Wales beat Japan, proving that they are again on an upward trajectory, so it’s going to be a challenging tour.
“We have delivered a few good performances but also a few disappointing ones this season, so this will be a good opportunity to test ourselves and see if we can build consistency from week to week. That said, it is going to take a massive effort, and we are excited about the tour.”
Springbok squad for end-of-year tour
Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Zachary Porthen (DHL Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Players on standby
Forwards: Juarno Augustus (Ulster), Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Evan Roos (DHL Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Backs: Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sebastian De Klerk (Vodacom Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
