Springboks squad: Winners and losers as the ‘backbone’ of Rassie’s World Cup squad ’emerges’ after Willie le Roux snub
RG Snyman and Damian Willemse celebrate a try against the All Blacks and an inset of Willie Le Roux.
Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to face Argentina in the Rugby Championship, we pick out our winners and losers.
Erasmus has stuck with largely the same players who did duty in New Zealand against the All Blacks, but has been robbed of the services of three players, while quietly releasing a double World Cup-winning veteran.
The squad has returned to South Africa and will reassemble this Thursday ahead of the Rugby Championship clash in Durban on the penultimate weekend of the tournament, before the Springboks tackle Los Pumas at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
Erasmus has selected 33 players for the upcoming meeting in KwaZulu-Natal, and without further ado, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
All Blacks slayers
With the exception of Lood de Jager and Aphelele Fassi – more on them later – all the players who featured in the 43-10 hammering of New Zealand have been retained in the Springboks squad.
It’s hardly surprising that Erasmus has stuck with those 21 players who handed the All Blacks their heaviest-ever defeat, who now have the opportunity to defend the Rugby Championship title in the final fortnight of action against a tricky Los Pumas outfit.
While the forward pack remained largely the same in both Tests, the Bok head coach has made no alterations and hasn’t called in any cover as of yet. It’s another sign of faith from the coaching staff that they are backing the youth.
“We are blessed with talent in South Africa, so as sad as we are for players such as Lood, Jean-Luc, Aphelele, Kurt-Lee, and many others, we have capable guys to fill their boots,” Erasmus explained.
“We are also fortunate to have so many versatile players who can play a few different positions, and they are equally adept in each of them, regardless of what position they play.”
Opinion: Rassie Erasmus’ plan to ‘unleash’ confidence-lacking Damian Willemse pays massive dividends
Cheslin Kolbe
After scoring a stunning brace at Sky Stadium, Cheslin Kolbe looked incredibly uncomfortable when he was removed from proceedings after a thuggish no-arms tackle by All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i.
He very well could have just been winded or bruised a rib, which ended his evening as he continues with the squad in the next two rounds of the competition, which is a massive boost for the squad.
Kolbe has well and truly shown his class in the Rugby Championship this season, once again proving that he is one of the best, if not the best, wingers in the world.
Despite his diminutive frame, Kolbe is absolutely outstanding in the air with an insane ability to leap incredibly high, which will be pivotal against Argentina, who possess a fantastic kicking game and similarly effective wingers under the high ball in the form of Mateo Carreras, Rodrigo Isgro and Bautista Delguy.
Rassie Erasmus
He said himself, ‘South Africa is blessed with talented’ rugby players and impressive depth. There was an air of doom and gloom after the defeat at Eden Park, but the emphatic response seven days later means there is a far more confident mood in the squad and from the fan base.
Erasmus now has a real headache to even cut this 33-man squad down to a matchday 23. Again, he is fortunate to have a smaller group like he has selected now, which is exactly the number of players teams are afforded for the global tournament. Could this squad be the backbone of the team that will board the Qantas flight Down Under in a couple of years? Only time will tell, but it certainly looks that way.
The head coach added in the squad release: “The bonus for us is that we still have so many players who have been in the system and attended our alignment camps in the last few seasons, and who have been knocking hard on the door, but unfortunately, we could only select a limited number of players for these matches, so we will continue to keep an eye on the others.”
Only time will tell
Edwill van der Merwe
It’s hard to tell whether Edwill van der Merwe is a winner or a loser just yet. The speedster made his Sharks debut in a warm-up fixture ahead of the United Rugby Championship season, featuring against the Stormers while the Boks were away in New Zealand.
The speedster missed the trip to Aotearoa due to injury but looks to be back to full fitness again. While he was omitted from the squad named by Erasmus on Wednesday, he was not listed as one of the players unavailable due to injury.
SA Rugby confirmed that three players could be linking up with the squad in the coming days, pending medical assessments, and one cannot help but assume that the flyer who has enjoyed a rapid rise on the international scene is one of those three players.
He was replaced in the squad by veteran winger Makazole Mapimpi, but considering the fact that Kurt-Lee Arendse and Aphelele Fassi are sidelined, there is a chance that Kolbe could be an option at full-back, meaning that a wing spot is opened up.
One thing is for sure: we haven’t seen the last of Van der Merwe in Green and Gold, with his recall a matter of when, not if.
Ex-All Blacks star hails ‘brilliant’ Manie Libbok’s impact in Springboks triumph in Wellington
Losers
Willie Le Roux
Not included in the 33-man squad and not listed amongst the injured players. It’s simple maths, Willie Le Roux has been released from the Springboks squad, a clear indication of the changing of the guard.
Le Roux has been a wonderful servant for the Springboks and a crucial cog in the backline, but Father Time catches up with everyone eventually, and the veteran was always going to be phased out at some point. Erasmus has made no secret of that, explaining repeatedly in the past that coaches and players really wanted Le Roux to deservedly notch up 100 Test caps. But now that has happened, it looks as if his time in Green and Gold is quickly coming to an end, if it hasn’t already.
It’s worth noting that even with the injury to Fassi, Le Roux has been excluded, with the pair being the only two players to start in the number 15 jumper for the Boks this year. However, the experienced campaigner had an underwhelming performance at Eden Park, which may have been the final straw or a sign to the coaches that Le Roux is no longer up for the biggest occasions.
Erasmus, his players and his staff have also hailed his ability to pass on his knowledge and improve the youngsters, and while he is bound to have an influence in that manner still, perhaps the result in Wellington showed that he has prepared the next generation sufficiently, and it’s time to move on.
We are not writing off the 36-year-old just yet, but if there was ever a sign of Erasmus ushering out the older generation and giving youth their time in the spotlight, none was as stark as this.
Jean-Luc du Preez
Jean-Luc du Preez comfortably sits amongst the unluckiest Springboks of all-time, or at least of the past seven years. Throughout his career, he has been a consistent performer for his club teams and on the rare occasions where he has been given an opportunity at the highest level, he has not disappointed.
But since 2018, he has played just four Test matches and an uncapped fixture in Green and Gold – the clash against the Barbarians – as he has been the victim of serious loose forward depth in the Boks squad. He has always been on the fringes of the back-to-back World Cup-winning squads and is a training squad and alignment camp veteran.
But despite all that, the cards have just not fallen favourably for the luckless 30-year-old, particularly this year, as illness saw him withdraw from the starting XV to face Australia in Cape Town before injury robbed him of a start against the All Blacks at Eden Park.
That setback means that he won’t face Argentina either and will have a delayed start to his career in France after swapping Sale Sharks for Bordeaux.
Can someone gift the man a horseshoe or something, he really needs it.
Injured duo
Joining Du Preez on the injury list following the tour of New Zealand is full-back Fassi and lock De Jager, with the latter enduring just as much of a luckless run.
Still, Fassi’s injury is untimely to say the least, as he looked to have regained his confidence in recent weeks and put in a strong 30-odd minutes before injury struck in Wellington. With Le Roux dropping out of the squad, Fassi would have been the frontrunner, along with Damian Willemse for the starting number 15 jersey against Los Pumas, but it was not to be.
Instead, the outside back could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines after donning a moonboot on the touchlines during the clash with the All Blacks. He, the Sharks and Boks will be holding thumbs that the injury is not nearly as bad as it looked.
As for De Jager, he marked his return to international rugby this year after a two-year injury and illness-enforced hiatus. The second-rower missed the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to an infection that affected his heart, and while he recovered from that to shine for the Wild Knights in Japan, a shoulder injury in the final delayed his return to the Green and Gold jersey until 2025.
Upon his return, he had been in fine fettle before injury reared its ugly head once again, cutting his involvement in the trashing of New Zealand incredibly short as he departed proceedings inside the first 10 minutes.
Overlooked call-ups
If 2025 has proved anything, it’s that one cannot predict who the Springboks would call upon in the event of injuries, but the likes of Lukhanyo Am, Salmaan Moerat, Evan Roos, Neethling Fouche, Vincent Tshituka and Cobus Wiese have all been placed on standby during the tournament.
Moerat would have likely been the go-to call to fill De Jager’s void had he not sustained an injury of his own, while it is quite interesting that Erasmus has not turned to the younger Wiese brother just yet.
As mentioned above, Erasmus has selected a squad exactly the same size that is permitted for a World Cup and perhaps that played into his decision-making.
The return of Jasper Wiese means that Roos is not needed despite Du Preez’s setback, with Siya Kolisi and Kwagga Smith likely to provide cover if needed.
Meanwhile, Am could fit in the same category as Edwill van der Merwe and could be called up later in the week, considering the injuries in the backs, particularly with the versatility of Moodie, Hooker and Kolbe.
The Boks coaches could have also bolstered their loose forward options after De Jager’s injury with the inclusion of Tshituka, who could also come into the mix, with Ruan Nortje, RG Snyman, and Franco Mostert providing loosehead lock cover.
