Springboks team: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus further ‘tests depth’ while sensational rookie backed

Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to face Georgia, we pick out our winners and losers.

The Springboks boss has heavily rotated once again, making 10 changes to the starting line-up that defeated Italy at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

This has led to three Test debuts, all coming in the front-row, while the number of players to represent the Boks this year climbs to 47.

So without further ado, here are our winners and losers from Erasmus‘ selections to face Georgia.

Winners

Front-row debuts

Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche both featured in the win over the Barbarians in Cape Town last month but will earn their official debuts this weekend and do so in the starting XV.

The pair are joined by Edinburgh prop Boan Venter, who would have qualified on residency grounds next year, and Scotland were understood to be keen to cap the loosehead prop when he became available.

Erasmus dismissed claims that the Springboks were simply calling upon the prop to block him from pulling on a blue jersey instead of a green and gold one.

We are not selecting him (Venter) to block him from playing for Scotland,” the Bok said in June.

“That did not have an influence. It is nicer for us to see guys like Duhan play for Scotland, because he probably would not have gotten a chance by us. So, why would you (select) the guy (to block him)? We were aware he (Venter) could have qualified for Scotland. We really went and looked (at) who was the next loosehead (in line), and he was on our radar.”

Venter’s call-up comes at a testing time for the Bok front-row stocks following the forced retirement of Steven Kitshoff and injuries to the likes of Gerhard Steenekamp and Ntuthuko Mchunu, while Thomas du Toit had his troubles last week at the set-piece.

Meanwhile, Fouche earns his first cap after being a consistent performer for the Stormers over the past few seasons and richly deserves the opportunity to realise his dream after being blocked by the plethora of talented tightheads in South Africa.

Finally, Erasmus has for a long time been searching for the third-choice hooker behind Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi, with Joseph Dweba and Johan Grobbelaar previously getting their shots as well as Andre-Hugo Venter. However, none of the trio has nailed down the position while Jan-Hendrik Wessels has chopped from hooker to loosehead. But now, Scarlets hooker Van der Merwe gets another opportunity to be that guy for the Boks, earning his second appearance by official Test debut.

The 28-year-old has enjoyed a sterling run of form at the Scarlets, having made the move from the Cheetahs, where he already caught the eye of the selectors, and after impressing off the bench against the Baa-Baas, he gets to run on from the first minute.

Siya Kolisi

The Springboks captain is back and not a second too soon, as Erasmus and his coaching team allowed the flanker ample time to recover.

Siya Kolisi sustained a nigglesome neck injury in the build-up to the Barbarians game and eventually withdrew from that fixture and missed both of the matches against Italy, although Erasmus admitted that he was possibly fit enough to play anyway.

Still, the strength in depth the Springboks have at their disposal means that they were able to rest their inspirational captain until he is 100% ready to go and considering the 34-year-old’s injury record, that was very much the correct call.

Cobus Wiese

Joining Kolisi in the back-row is Cobus Wiese, who earns his place in the starting XV at the expense of his brother Jasper, a rather strange predicament.

The younger of the Wiese brothers, Cobus, has taken his game to another level since returning to South Africa and joining the Bulls from Sale Sharks and is fully deserving of not only a Test debut but now a first start.

While generally viewed as a lock-blindside flanker hybrid player, Wiese has the chance to also flex his versatility in the back-row as he packs down at number eight, but he is helped by the fact that he starts alongside two veterans of the Bok loose trio in Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Edwill van der Merwe

After a 13-month gap between Test caps one and two, Edwill van der Merwe has to wait just seven days for his third appearance and start for the Springboks.

Injury denied him the opportunity to add to his Test cap tally in 2024, but the 29-year-old quickly went about earning a recall through his performances with the Lions and was in electric form all season. But most importantly, he replicated that form when given the opportunity to against Italy with a dazzling two-try, man of the match display.

One could easily mistake him for the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe as he darts up and down the touchline in a similar fashion with his green and gold scrumcap, and Van der Merwe is certainly producing sensational performances of that calibre to match.

His Test record, abeit limited to date, reads two Tests, three tries, two victories and two man of the match awards.

Canan Moodie

After a hot and cold season with the Bulls, Canan Moodie starred for the Springboks last weekend and is one of just five players to retain a starting role, but this time with a new centre partner, Damian de Allende.

It is the first time that he will combine with the double World Cup winner, with each of his other three starts in the midfield coming alongside Andre Esterhuizen.

The 22-year-old has regularly been dubbed a generational talent but has yet to really cement a place in the squad despite superb performances. However, a first start alongside De Allende suggests that he is at least getting the coaches to think about the prospect of featuring in the big matches more often.

Still, he gets the chance to extend his insane unbeaten run in international rugby, having won each of his previous 13 Tests, scoring six tries.

Rassie Erasmus

The meeting with Georgia will be the fourth Springboks match of the year, and already we have seen that playing 50 players in 2024 was not a one-off, as Kolisi and Venter take the tally to 47 for 2025.

This is despite the growing list of unavailable players through injury and suspension that will bloat the numbers even more when they return.

Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom, Juarno Augustus, Trevor Nykane, Frans Malherbe, Gerhard Steenekamp, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ben-Jason Dixon and Lukhanyo Am are just a few of the names not available to the Boks.

“Building squad depth has been one of our pillars as a squad since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step-up,” Erasmus said of the three debutants.

It’s truly astounding the strength in depth and the kind of position any head coach would want to be in. A dream job, but something Erasmus and his staff have worked hard to achieve.

Losers

Jasper Wiese

It was purely of his own doing, but Jasper Wiese will be hugely disappointed by what unfolded in Gqeberha. There is a good chance that he wouldn’t have featured in this match anyway, but having just returned from injury, his suspension is a further setback and one that was easily avoidable.

His ban includes the highly anticipated clash between the Springboks and All Blacks at Eden Park, with Erasmus’ charges aiming to become the first team since 1996 to beat the men in black at their fortress.

hope that he has done enough to secure his place in the squad for the Rugby Championship.

Unfortunately for the rookie, there is a need to get some mileage in the legs of more experienced and settled Boks, considering the gap between these internationals and the Rugby Championship, meaning that the majority of these selections could have been made well in advance.

Evan Roos

A victim of Erasmus testing the depth, as the Bok boss admits that the coaches believe that younger Wiese has potential in the number eight jersey for South Africa.

Evan Roos earned his eighth cap off the bench last week and would have been viewed by many as the next cab off the rank following Jasper Wiese’s ban. However, he does not crack the matchday 23 at all.

The head coach says that Roos is not out of the selection frame at all going forward, and like Hooker, the Stormers man will hope that he has done enough.