Springboks team: Faf de Klerk returns as Rassie Erasmus includes five uncapped men v Barbarians
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus (left) has named his 23-man squad to face the Barbarians this Saturday
Faf de Klerk will make his return to the Springboks side this weekend, after being named in Rassie Erasmus’ 23-man squad to face the Barbarians.
The 34-year-old scrum-half, who will return to South Africa next season with the Cheetahs, has not featured for the Springboks since their win over Georgia in 2025, but has been named on the bench for their clash with the Barbarians.
Elsewhere, Erasmus has also included five uncapped players in the 23, including Junior Boks captain Riley Norton.
Three uncapped players named for Springboks v Barbarians showdown
Of those uncapped men, Norton and Carlu Sadie feature in the run-on group, while JJ Kotze, Paul de Villiers and Vusi Moyo make the replacements list.
Elsewhere, Erasmus has gone virtually full-strength for this meeting with the Barbarians, despite not having any of the Bulls players available, with a number of Test regulars included in the side. Aphelele Fassi gets the nod at 15, with Cheslin Kolbe and Edwill van der Merwe named on the wings. Jesse Kriel and Andre Esterhuizen make up the midfield partnership, with Quan Horn and Grant Williams named at fly-half and scrum-half, respectively.
Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi form a formidable back-row, with Franco Mostert joining the aforementioned Norton in the locks. Sadie features in the front-row alongside Andre-Hugo Venter and Ox Nche.
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Erasmus has also opted for a 6:2 split on the bench, with the uncapped trio of Kotze, de Villiers and Moyo and the aforementioned de Klerk joined by Ntuthuko Mchunu, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon and Evan Roos.
Commenting on his Springboks squad, the director of rugby said: “We said from the outset that we wanted to give a few players returning from injury and others who have been playing overseas game time in this match, while at the same time exposing some of the younger players on our radar to top-class international rugby, and we believe this squad reflects those objectives.
“We have been very impressed with the way the new players have jumped straight into action and grasped our systems and structures, and we are excited to see what they can do alongside some of our regular Springbok players, as we build for what will be a challenging season with the Nations Championship and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series approaching.”
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Of the Barbarians, Erasmus added: “They have a group of exciting and experienced players in their squad, and they’ll come out guns blazing and try to produce an entertaining style of rugby, which will serve as a good test for us. They will challenge us, but this will be a good hit-out for our players to get back into top-level international rugby, with the England match a little over two weeks ago.
“That said, they are always a tough side to analyse because they have players from all around the world, and a quality coaching team, who will set high standards for them, so it will be important for us to focus on our game and what we would like to achieve.”
Springboks team v Barbarians in full
Starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Quan Horn, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Riley Norton, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Vusi Moyo
