Springboks squad: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus makes clear statement with South Africa greats reaching the ‘end of the road’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and full-back Willie le Roux.
After Rassie Erasmus announced his Springboks training squad for the end-of-year tour, we pick out the winners and losers from those selections.
Winners
Zachary Porthen
It has been a rather rapid rise for the tighthead, who played just one game for the Stormers last season – a 23-minute cameo in a dominant victory over the Dragons – but he has impressed at the start of the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship (URC) season.
A Junior Springbok in 2023 and 2024, Porthen was excellent off the bench against Leinster and Scarlets before he made his first start in the Cape Town outfit’s 31-12 triumph over Zebre on Saturday. Erasmus has seen the prop’s obvious potential and he has duly been rewarded with his first call-up.
Johan Grobbelaar
One of the Springboks’ returnees after surprisingly being omitted for the July Tests and Rugby Championship. To Grobbelaar’s credit, he has kept his head down and worked hard for the Bulls, enjoying a good start to the season which included scoring a hat-trick against the Ospreys in the URC opener. He has therefore been rewarded for his patience and good form with Springboks selection.
Jean Kleyn
Was injured in the Springboks’ opening match of the year against Barbarians but has quickly been reinstated after returning to action with Munster. Kleyn started the Irish province’s first three games before being selected on the bench for the huge derby with arch-rivals Leinster, making a huge impression when he came on in the second period.
Quality tighthead locks are few and far between in the modern game, even if South Africa seem to contain more than most, but Kleyn gives them power and an incredible work ethic in the close exchanges.
Ben-Jason Dixon
Has endured his injury issues and only recently returned from a wrist injury he sustained in March, but Erasmus is a fan of the flanker and he has started the season well for the Stormers. Dixon started three Rugby Championship matches in 2024 and he will be pushing for a place in the 23.
Gerhard Steenekamp
Another player to make his return from injury and this will be a particular boost to the Boks. They are hardly lacking in outstanding props, but Steenekamp has proven to be one of the best scrummagers in the URC, particularly over the past couple of years.
Alongside Wilco Louw, they have been a formidable duo in the front-row. Steenekamp has played four games since his comeback and was scarily good when he came onto the field against Connacht as the Bulls consistently sent the Irishmen into reverse at the scrum.
Juarno Augustus and Sebastian de Klerk
They may only be on the standby list but it shows that Erasmus is watching and has taken notice of their form. Augustus was outstanding for Northampton Saints last season before he moved to Ulster in the off-season. The change of scene has not resulted in a change of form with the number eight continuing to star on the field.
As for De Klerk, he is consistently one of the most dangerous backs in the URC and at the weekend showed how devastating he can be. Those Springboks wing spots are extremely competitive but he is certainly not far away and an injury could open the door for him.
Losers
Bongi Mbonambi
Like De Klerk and Augustus, the hooker is among the standby list, but his situation is very different to those two. A double Rugby World Cup winner in 2019 and 2023, Mbonambi has been a stalwart for the Boks, but it is another sign that there is a changing of the guard.
He is 34 now and will be 36 at the next World Cup, so the South Africa head coach understandably wants to test out younger options at hooker, but Mbonambi will be there in case of an emergency. However, you wonder whether it is the beginning of the end of his Test career.
Marnus van der Merwe
This is more of a surprise given that Van der Merwe played rather well when given an opportunity in the July Tests and Rugby Championship, but perhaps his likely absence for the Japan and Wales games count against him.
Those Tests fall outside the international window and, although the Springboks have been given permission by the Japanese clubs to pick the Asia-based players, it may well be more difficult when negotiating with the European outfits.
Vincent Koch
Just like Mbonambi’s demotion, this one feels significant. The 35-year-old was involved in the July Tests but since then Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw have dovetailed nicely as the Springboks tightheads.
With Du Toit and Louw cementing two of the spots in the squad, that has enabled Erasmus to experiment by bringing in a younger player in the shape of Porthen. Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Neethling Fouche, who are more experienced, are also there as back-up should they need more knowhow in the group.
Willie le Roux
It felt like the centurion was being eased out during the Rugby Championship and this has only confirmed it, particularly with the Springboks only having one full-back in the squad due to Aphelele Fassi’s injury.
Le Roux has actually been playing some wonderful rugby for the Bulls this season and was majestic in the first half of their victory over Connacht but, at the age of 36, this looks as though it’s the end of the road for the great playmaker.
Quan Horn
Speaking of the full-back slot, the Lions star is highly regarded in Johannesburg but it is telling that he has not been selected despite the shortage of out-and-out 15s at their disposal. Horn is consistently one of his team’s better performers but he is evidently not doing enough to impress the coaches. He is a wonderful attacker but, with the aerial game so important nowadays, his lack of height may be an issue.
Cobus Wiese
The younger brother of Jasper earned kudos from Erasmus for his display at number eight against Georgia but, since his brother’s return, he has drifted the pecking order. There are simply too many quality locks in South Africa and Wiese is the unfortunate one to miss out.
Faf de Klerk
He has been on the periphery throughout 2025 but De Klerk has generally been kept in reserve on the standby list. However, the 34-year-old scrum-half has now been jettisoned from that list with Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg and Grant Williams now clearly in front.
It is not to do with age as such, as Reinach is actually a year older at 35, but Erasmus – and attack coach Tony Brown – perhaps think that De Klerk does not suit the current South Africa game plan as well as those three.
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