Springboks squad: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus calls up ‘forgotten’ World Cup winner and ‘talented’ youngsters while veteran trio miss out
Springboks World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am (inset) and Herschel Jantjies.
Following the announcement of Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus’ reduced 46-man squad for the upcoming Nations Championship internationals, we select our winners and losers.
The world champions’ campaign gets underway with an eagerly anticipated match against England in Johannesburg, before they take on Scotland and Wales in Pretoria and Durban, respectively.
After 50 players represented South Africa at Test level in 2025, Erasmus is still casting a wide net with six uncapped players included in his squad to begin preparations for the new Test campaign.
So without further ado, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Riley Norton and Vusi Moyo
The talented U20 duo’s inclusion in Erasmus’ squad is probably the biggest surprise, as they were initially set to be involved in South Africa’s title defence at the 2026 Junior World Championship, which gets underway in Georgia later this month.
Despite being just 20 years old, Norton and Moyo will now have the opportunity to make the step up to Test rugby with the senior Springboks after both shone in the clash with the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday.
Norton made his mark with an outstanding all-round performance as he came to the fore with a high work-rate on defence, in which he caught the eye with some bone-crunching hits, while his attacking efforts were also rewarded with a deserved try. Although he started at lock, the former South Africa U20 skipper is also comfortable in the back row, and judging from his performance against the Baa-baas, he could make his Test debut in July.
Likewise, fly-half Moyo, who came off the bench in the second half in Gqeberha, delivered an outstanding cameo. His game management and playmaking skills were of a high standard, and he scored his first points in green and gold courtesy of a well-taken conversion.
Herschel Jantjies
In many ways, the 2019 Rugby World Cup winner is the forgotten man of South African rugby as he has not represented his country at the international level in three years, with his last Boks appearance in August 2023 against Argentina.
Jantjies initially burst onto the Test scene in 2019 when he scored a brace of tries on his debut for the Boks in a Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies in Johannesburg.
He was part of the Boks’ victorious campaign at the global showpiece in Japan later that year – where he served as the back-up scrum-half to Faf de Klerk – and went on to win 24 Test caps. He later missed out on selection to the 2023 World Cup campaign in France.
Since then, the 30-year-old joined French club Bayonne from the Stormers at the start of the 2025/26 season, and after delivering several superb performances for the Top 14 outfit, he was called up to a Boks virtual alignment camp in March before his eventual recall for the Nations Championship.
Other uncapped players
Apart from Norton and Moyo, Erasmus has also called up the uncapped quartet of Carlu Sadie, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden and Jaco Williams to the Springboks squad.
Tighthead prop Sadie has been in superb form for his French club Bordeaux-Begles, helping them to defend their Investec Champions Cup title in the final against Leinster last month, before also impressing with a solid scrummaging effort against the Barbarians on Saturday.
It is a similar story with De Villiers, who was at the forefront of the Stormers’ onslaught during the 2025/26 season, and replicated that form off the bench against the Baa-baas in Gqeberha. He impressed with his breakdown work and put his body on the line on defence and attack.
Springboks squad: Six uncapped men named in Nations Championship group as World Cup winner returns
Meanwhile, lock Van Heerden and winger Williams, despite not seeing action against the Barbarians, are also rewarded after impressive displays for the South African ‘A’ team in their 40-0 triumph over the Zimbabwe Sables in Saturday’s curtain-raiser.
Van Heerden, who is leaving the Stormers to join Montpellier, is a fine lineout exponent and solid in defence, while Sharks youngster Williams is a brilliant attacker who knows his way to the try-line.
Bulls contingent
Although they suffered a crushing defeat to Leinster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) final for the second successive year, the arrival of the Bulls contingent in the Springboks squad will be a welcome boost for the world champions.
Wilco Louw, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Ruan Nortje, Cameron Hanekom, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Cobus Wiese are the forwards who have been included, along with backline stars Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie.
Most of the aforementioned players have been regulars in Springboks’ squads in recent years and have shown that they can mix it with the best at Test level, with Van Staden, Pollard, Arendse and Moodie part of the Boks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup-winning squad.
While most of the others have cemented their spots in the Boks squad in the aftermath of that triumphant campaign at the global showpiece in France, Papier is the odd one out as he returns to the world champions’ squad after an eight-year absence.
After being overlooked for all those years, Papier delivered several outstanding performances for the Pretoria-based outfit, resulting in him being named South Africa’s URC Player of the Year, and now his efforts have been rewarded with a deserved recall to the Boks squad.
Vincent Tshituka
Although he usually lines up on the side of the scrum as a flanker, the older of the Sharks’ Tshituka brothers packed down in the second-row for the South Africa ‘A’ side in their impressive victory against the Zimbabwe Sables.
Tshituka also captained that team and gave a good account of himself, impressing with his leadership skills while also catching the eye as a ball carrier and in the execution of his defensive duties.
The 27-year-old’s utility value is one of his strengths, and that could see him add to his solitary Test appearance, which he made against Italy in Pretoria last July.
Cobus Reinach
The experienced scrum-half has been sidelined for the past two months with a medial cruciate ligament injury sustained while on duty for the Stormers during a URC encounter against Glasgow Warriors in Cape Town.
Despite that, Erasmus has included the 36-year-old in his squad as one of four number nines alongside Jantjies, Papier and Grant Williams, with the latter getting game-time against the Barbarians.
A two-time World Cup winner, Reinach finished the 2025 Test campaign as South Africa’s first-choice scrum-half, and he also delivered several outstanding showings for the Stormers, who he joined at the start of the 2025/26 season. Despite being on the road to recovery, his excellent form has been rewarded with a Boks call-up.
Losers
Lukhanyo Am
The two-time Rugby World Cup winner was also in action for the South Africa ‘A’ team in Gqeberha and put in a solid display against the Sables, showing good moments in attack and defence.
Usually an outside centre, Am was wearing the number 12 jersey in that game, with the promising Markus Muller slotting in alongside him in an exciting midfield partnership.
Despite a solid performance from Am, who now plies his trade for Sagamihara DynaBoars in Japan, in which he proved to be a good foil for the hard-running Muller, his efforts were not good enough to earn a Boks recall. Instead, Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende all got the nod as the preferred centres, with utility players Moodie and Damian Willemse also able to slot into midfield if required.
After shining for the Boks at the 2019 World Cup and during the triumphant series win over the British & Irish Lions in 2021, injuries have halted Am’s progress at Test level. Although he has done well to bounce back from those setbacks, he made his last appearance for the Springboks in 2024 and is unlikely to return to the Test arena anytime soon.
Faf de Klerk
After making two Test appearances off the bench in 2025 – against Italy and Georgia respectively – the double World Cup winner did not feature again for the Boks until he replaced Grant Williams in the second half against the Barbarians on Saturday.
Although he did not set the world alight, the 34-year-old did what was expected of him and must have been hopeful of being called up for the Nations Championship.
It wasn’t to be as Erasmus is spoilt for choice at scrum-half with Jantjies, Papier, Williams and Reinach ahead of the new Cheetahs signing in the pecking order for the Boks’ number nine jersey.
After missing out on Boks selection, De Klerk was called up to the Barbarians squad for their clash against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.
Vincent Koch
Another experienced campaigner whose services will not be needed for the upcoming Nations Championship is Koch, who, along with other World Cup winners Eben Etzebeth, Willemse and Lood de Jager, were not in action in either of the matches in Gqeberha.
Despite being in the twilight of his career, at the age of 36, the veteran tighthead prop still delivered impressive performances for the Sharks at club level this past season, and he signed a contract extension with the Durban-based outfit earlier this year.
However, with the likes of Sadie and Zachary Porthen delivering excellent performances in the win over the Baa-baas and with Louw set to return from Bulls duty, Koch misses out on Boks selection and, like De Klerk, he will now join the Baa-baas squad for that clash against Wales.
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Other released players
Apart from the aforementioned experienced World Cup-winning trio, several other players, who were part of the Springboks’ extended squad in the build-up to the world champions and South Africa ‘A’ fixtures in Gqeberha, also missed out on selection for the Nations Championship.
Among those were one-Test Boks Phepsi Buthelezi and Neethling Fouche, and other experienced players like Sharks duo Emmanuel Tshituka (loose forward) and Hanro Jacobs (front-row), s well as Stormers lock Adre Smith, who all put in solid showings for the South Africa ‘A’ side.
Meanwhile, up-and-coming stars like Haashim Pead, Bathobele Hlekani, Sibabalwa Mahashe, Imad Khan, Jurenzo Julius and Nico Steyn also miss out after fine showings against Zimbabwe, and if they continue in that vein, their time for higher honours will surely come in the future.
Likewise, for Muller, Luan Giliomee, Yaqeen Ahmed, Oliver Reid, Liam van Wyk, Zekhethelo Siyaya and Siphosethu Mnebelele who will be representing South Africa at the Junior World Championship later this month.