Springboks team: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus makes ‘mass rotations’ while star will be ‘gutted’ by latest setback
Springboks hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen and an inset of head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to face Scotland at Loftus Versfeld next Saturday, here are our winners and losers from the selections made.
The head coach has made 10 changes to his starting XV, staying true to his objective of giving as many players in his squad the opportunity to put up their hands at the highest level this season.
He makes the changes off the back of beating England 45-21 at Ellis Park last weekend, a result that saw South Africa retain top spot in the World Rugby rankings and go top of the Nations Championship standings in the Southern Hemisphere. They will face a Scotland team that will be confident off the back of their 47-38 victory over Los Pumas in Argentina.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the team Erasmus has selected to face Scotland.
Winners
Handré Pollard
Handré Pollard makes his first appearance in Green and Gold this year after missing the double header at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium due to his commitments with the Bulls and the clash against England, with Manie Libbok preferred.
The double Rugby World Cup winner now gets the nod for the clash in Pretoria and will be eager to impress after a somewhat poor run of form during the latter stages of the Bulls season.
“Handré didn’t exactly set the world alight for the Bulls, but he has never let us down,” Erasmus said of the fly-half after the 80-31 victory over the Barbarians in Gqeberha. “A lot of people are talking, but we know what Handré can do.”
He added: “It’s difficult to point fingers at someone while he’s playing for his franchise and you haven’t worked with him for a while. You don’t have a full view of the environment.
“Why would he suddenly become a poor player? Is there an injury? No, there isn’t, so perhaps he’s just had a week or two where he wasn’t exceptional.”
Many believe that Pollard’s skillset doesn’t quite match up with Tony Brown’s attacking structures, but last weekend, we saw the Boks deploy kick-heavy tactics against England. If they are to continue in that vein against Scotland, then the veteran pivot is surely a better fit.
Still, the experienced playmaker probably needs a big performance in the Springboks jumper, with the competition for the role heating up with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok making strong cases to become the first-choice number 10, while Sharks youngster Vusi Moyo is clearly highly thought of by the coaching team.
Elrigh Louw
A welcome return to the Green and Gold jersey as Elrigh Louw earns his first cap for the Springboks since November 2024. The Bulls back-rower enjoyed a breakout international season two years ago, but his momentum was stalled by a horrific injury. He damaged ligaments in his left knee and also broke his leg in the United Rugby Championship, ultimately missing the entirety of the 2025 Springboks season.
Louw was initially overlooked for the Springboks’ squad for the Nations Championship matches but has earned a recall following the injury to Junior Boks captain Riley Norton. However, Erasmus explained that he was unfortunate to miss out in the first place.
“It’s nice to have Elrich back because he was very, very close to making the squad; he only missed out because our squad was just getting too big. It’s also quite nice, and he deserves to be here,” Erasmus explained last week. “He’s been a Springbok, and having him back in the squad is really nice.”
The Bulls back-rower was excellent in Green and Gold in 2024 but hasn’t quite hit those highs for his club since his return from that long-term injury that threatened his playing career. Louw has the potential to be a crucial member of the Springboks with his ability to play in the loose forwards and in the second row but will need to hit the ground sprinting considering the plethora of options Erasmus has at his disposal.
Damian Willemse
After a starring display in his 50th appearance for the Springboks, Damian Willemse is just one of five players who retain a starting spot for South Africa’s second game of the Nations Championship.
However, Erasmus has opted to deploy the brilliant back in the centres after a nigh-on flawless display at full-back at Ellis Park. Willemse’s versatility is well-documented as he is capable of potentially playing all of the backline roles besides scrum-half.
This weekend, he gets the opportunity at inside centre, a position he has started just once before for the Springboks – last year’s 43-10 victory over the All Blacks. He was sublime in the clash in Wellington but was forced to full-back during the match after the injury to Aphelele Fassi in the first half.
He will hope that he gets a longer run in the role at Loftus and has the perfect midfield partner in Jesse Kriel and the experience of Pollard on his inside to make the job all the more easier for him.
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Embrose Papier
It’s almost been a full eight years since Embrose Papier has pulled on the Springboks’ Green and Gold jersey, having last played against Wales back in 2018. He earned seven caps that year under Erasmus but has been limited to a handful of training and alignment camps since.
This despite being arguably the form scrum-half of the South African URC franchises for the past two seasons, if not longer. A start at Loftus Versfeld is just reward for his form in the Bulls jumper, and Erasmus has him set up for success with his clubmate Pollard being his half-back partner. He also has a powerful back in front of him too.
Paul de Villiers
After Siya Kolisi’s hamstring injury in the build-up to the clash against England, Paul de Villiers was afforded the chance to realise his dream of officially becoming a Springbok. The 23-year-old Stormers star made the most of the opportunity by shining in the match and he didn’t look out of place for a second.
De Villiers is a breakdown expert, and whilst he wasn’t able to win a turnover or penalty against Steve Borthwick’s charges, he was part of a brutally effective Springboks’ effort and proved to be a real threat over the ball throughout his shift.
Like Papier, the flanker’s form for his club has been incredibly difficult to ignore, and back-to-back starts is reward for that and his performance in his first Test match. With Kwagga Smith ruled out for the entire Springboks season, De Villiers has a massive opportunity to stamp his mark this year and feature regularly. He is already making the most of it.
Quan Horn
A Test debutant against Portugal in 2024, Quan Horn has had to wait almost two full years to earn his second cap for the Springboks and will do so as a member of the famed bomb squad. An always consistent performer for the Lions, Horn was trialled at fly-half by the Boks versus the Barbarians and equipped himself well in the fixture.
He is clearly a player that the Bok coaches feel can do the job in the number 10 jumper despite being primarily a full-back for the Lions who can easily slot onto the wing for the national team.
It’s rather difficult for a specialist to crack the team, but it seems like his experiment at fly-half was a success in the coaching team’s view and he could quickly become a more regular member of the squad.
Rassie Erasmus
Head coach Erasmus is in an incredibly luxurious position in the sense that he not only has an insane pool of depth to select from but the leeway to do so. With a contract through to 2031, his future is secure, meaning that he can experiment and take risks that other coaches simply cannot.
He has earned that trust from the board and public through the success he has enjoyed since taking over back in 2018, but it still takes guts to make so many changes week-to-week. This week, it’s 10 just in the starting XV, with four new faces on the bench taking that tally to 14.
“We have good depth in our squad, and this will be a great test for the team,” said Erasmus. “We told the players from the outset that we would give as many of them a chance as possible to play this season, while we are also trying to manage some players, while others are not available for selection this week, so it was important to select a team with some continuity from last week, while bringing in players we believe will be the right fit for what we are expecting from Scotland.”
Erasmus added: “All of the players have been working extremely hard at training, and they are fully aware of the threat Scotland poses. Many of these combinations have played together for the Springboks and for their provincial teams this season. Many of the players will also be playing at their home ground at Loftus Versfeld, so they know the field and conditions well.”
Despite the mass rotation, Erasmus has still named a squad featuring 445 caps in the starting lineup, 274 caps in the backline, with 171 caps among the forwards. However, the true youthfulness of the squad is highlighted by the fact that there are just 69 caps on the bench – 29 of which come from Grant Williams.
Bulls contingent
Whilst the Bulls’ season ended on a low note as they were comprehensively beaten in the URC final, their performances throughout their campaign have been recognised by the coaching team. In total, eight players who represented the Pretoria-based side have been included in the matchday 23: Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje, Papier, Pollard, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Louw.
The likes of Louw, Nortje, Pollard, Wessels and Moodie are hardly surprising considering that they have been regulars in the Springboks squad in recent times, but Saturday’s game is a massive opportunity for the others.
Particularly for Grobbelaar and Wessels, with Erasmus clearly looking to figure out who Malcolm Marx’s back-up is in the number two jumper. Bongi Mbonambi has been one of the two hookers the Boks have regularly selected since 2018, but he has seemingly dropped further down the pecking order and is possibly being phased out of the squad.
Losers
Cam Hanekom
Cam Hanekom finally earned his second cap for the Springboks after an injury-ravaged 2025 season when he was thrown into the starting XV for the clash against England last weekend. The 24-year-old is a hugely exciting prospect for the Boks going forward and looks every bit a future regular for the side.
However, he didn’t quite replicate his stellar form for the Bulls in the Green and Gold jersey. Erasmus was also going to rotate for this Test against Scotland, but Hanekom would have been eager to get another shot as quickly as possible – especially with the Boks playing in Pretoria.
Ox Nche
Erasmus spoke rather grimly when discussing Ox Nche’s injury after the match against England last weekend, and the world-class loosehead has subsequently been ruled out of this weekend’s fixture against Scotland at the very least.
“Ox got a knee injury, I think it’s pretty bad, but we will have to do scans to find out what’s wrong,” he said last Saturday. “But we wouldn’t have taken him off [if it wasn’t bad] because the game definitely wasn’t in the bag.”
It’s a cruel setback for Nche, who looked to be in devastating form yet again. For his and the Springboks’ sake, it’s hopefully not nearly as bad as it initially seemed.
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Andre Esterhuizen
It seems as if Damian de Allende was always going to be rested for the clash against Scotland, and while it’s entirely possible that Willemse’s shift to the inside centre role was pre-planned, one has to wonder whether Andre Esterhuizen was in line for a rare start in the number 12 jersey had he not sustained a concussion last week.
Whilst he is thriving in the hybrid role off the bench for the Springboks, Esterhuizen played just three Tests for South Africa in the number 12 jersey last year. Erasmus has explained that the ploy to make Esterhuizen into a hybrid player has made it possible for him to feature more regularly in the Test team, and while he will be pleased by that, the Sharks captain will surely be gutted that he has missed an opportunity to play in his preferred position.
Other injury concerns
The Boks head into the fixture against Scotland without double World Cup winners Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, and Siya Kolisi – two centurians and an 84-Test international. The victory over England came at a further cost with Esterhuizen and Mostert ruled out while Ethan Hooker remains unavailable for selection this week as he continues his road to recovery.
One potential positive is that the injuries have all been described as ‘niggles’ with all the aforementioned names remaining in the squad for the time being.
Ruben van Heerden
With Etzebeth joining the unavailable list for this weekend’s clash, one would have thought that Stormers star Ruben van Heerden would get the nod against Scotland. The Springboks are currently without seven locks, but instead of turning to the consistent second rower, Erasmus has backed Ben-Jason Dixon and Elrigh Louw to cover lock from the bench, with Pieter-Steph du Toit also able to shift into the role from the loose forwards later in the game.
Perhaps Van Heerden will get an opportunity against Wales, but it does look unlikely with De Jager likely to be fit in time for the final July international in Durban. If so, Erasmus will possibly want the trio in the mix, limiting the spots for Van Heerden to fill.
Overlooked half-backs: Vusi Moyo and Herschel Jantjies
The only two half-backs in the Nations Championship squad who have yet to be named in a matchday 23, with Herschel Jantjies having to wait at least another week for his first appearance in Green and Gold since 2023.
Jantjies was a surprise call-up to the squad, and perhaps the amount of time he has been out of the Springboks mix is part of the reason why he has been considered for the first two weeks. While Papier has been out of the mix for a long while too, he has benefitted from attending the in-person alignment camps earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Vusi Moyo falls victim to the Boks’ desire to deploy a 6-2 bomb squad bench against the Scots and the need to get Pollard minutes in the number 10 jersey. Still, the overlooked fly-half will benefit hugely from the experience of being in the squad.
Overlooked rookies: Carlu Sadie, Andre-Hugo Venter and Jaco Williams
The trio all featured in the Gqeberha double header but have yet to get the nod for a matchday 23 in the opening two weeks. Carlu Sadie and Jaco Williams will be aiming to make their Test debuts this year, while Andre-Hugo Venter will be keen to add to his single Test cap earned against Portugal two years ago.
There is still one selection to go while they remain in the squad; perhaps they have been promised caps then.
