Rassie Erasmus includes Rookie as he named Nine uncapped players to feature in a 54-strong Springbok training squad

The same group of players who participated in the second alignment camp in Cape Town last month has been retained to kick off the back-to-back world champions’ season, which gets underway against the Barbarians on June 28 ahead of the July internationals.

The nine uncapped players in the group are Marnus van der Merwe, Neethling Fouche, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese, Renzo du Plessis, Vincent Tshituka, Juarno Augustus, Ethan Hooker, and Ntokozo Makhaza.

While Fouche and Hooker were members of the Springbok training squad last season, Tshituka and Augustus had a taste of the senior international structures after being included in the Springbok Showdown Green and Gold squads in 2020.

Five players, namely Frans Malherbe, Elrigh Louw, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie, and Trevor Nyakane were not considered due to injuries. The squad boast 31 World Cup winners in all and consist of 30 forwards and 24 backs.

The biggest bolter in the squad is 23-year-old wing Makhaza, who put himself on the map by being named the 2025 Varsity Cup Player of the Year, while Evan Roos is perhaps the unluckiest player to miss out on selection.

With the Bulls, Sharks, and Leinster in the final four of the United Rugby Championship, along with players from Bath, the Leicester Tigers and the Sale Sharks set to play in the Premiership semi-finals this weekend, a staggered approach will be adopted to the players joining the camp.

The available players, which include the full Japan-based contingent following the conclusion of their season, will assemble in Johannesburg on Sunday, 8 June, and begin their on-field preparations on Monday. The remainder of the players will join the squad as they complete their club commitments.

“We were very pleased with the two Springbok alignment camps we hosted, and we are excited to have the luxury of announcing a squad with so much depth and talent,” said Erasmus.

“Having an expanded squad will not only afford us the opportunity to have productive training sessions, but it will also bode well for the younger players in the group to learn from the senior players, many of whom are Rugby World Cup champions.

“We take pride in offering talented young players a chance to work first-hand with the coaches and to expose them to standards at international level, and we are excited to see them showcase their skills at the camp.”

Erasmus added: “We used a total of 50 players last season in an attempt to balance the load on them, while at the same time building towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and with a few more talented youngsters in this group, we hope that they will learn valuable lessons and stake a strong claim for places in what will be a challenging, yet exciting season.”

The squad will train from Monday to Friday, before returning home for the weekend to spend time with their families, and will reassemble on Sunday 15 June for the second week of training, before travelling to Cape Town for the Barbarians match.

The Springboks will meet the Barbarians in their first encounter on South African soil in Cape Town on Saturday 28 June where they will play for the Qatar Airways Cup, which will be followed by back-to-back Tests against Italy in Pretoria and Gqeberha on 5 and 12 July, and Georgia in Nelspruit a week later on 19 July.

Springbok squad (in alphabetical order):

Forwards: Juarno Augustus (Northampton Saints), Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Renzo du Plessis (Emirates Lions), Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Emirates Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

Backs: Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi (both Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Ethan Hooker (all Hollywoodbets Sharks), Quan Horn (Emirates Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ntokozo Makhaza (UCT), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe (both Emirates Lions), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).