Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, and Morne van den Berg have been included in the 26-man squad for the tour to Argentina.
Kolisi, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, De Jager, Etzebeth and Van den Berg are a timely boost for coach Rassie Erasmus for their one-off Test in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Erasmus named the squad, which will travel to South America in two groups on Saturday, and features several players returning from injury and others who have had a lighter workload over the past few weeks.
Several players who have been involved in the team’s opening four matches of the season, such as Cheslin Kolbe, Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel and Ruan Nortje, will reassemble at the team’s training base in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin their preparations for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) Tour against New Zealand.
“We tried to get the balance right between giving some guys who are returning from injury and who have not had too much game time in our past four matches a valuable run against Argentina.
So, next week’s training camp will be useful for them to continue to put in the hard yards and for the injured players to continue their rehabilitation
— Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus
“At the same time, we are managing players who have played a lot of rugby this year. Guys who have recovered from their injuries have been training hard this week and are ready to go, so it will be great for them to get a tough Test match under the belt before we face New Zealand,” said Erasmus.
“Several players, meanwhile, have been performing for us week in and week out, so it was important that we manage their workload, while players such as Ox [Nche] and Franco [Mostert] are still on the road to recovery.
“So, next week’s training camp will be useful for them to continue to put in the hard yards and for the injured players to continue their rehabilitation.”
Erasmus is expecting a tough battle from Argentina.
“Argentina are a quality outfit, and we know we will be in for a massive challenge in Buenos Aires, so we are preparing for a physical and gruelling battle over there.
“They are a well-coached team who have tested us in the past few years, while they have also been competitive in the Nations Championship, so it will be a good test for us as a team.”
On the training camp this past week, Erasmus said: “We had a series of productive sessions throughout the week, and all the players know what we expect of them, so everyone understands the importance of building on our season.”
Springbok travelling squad to Argentina
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Ben-Jason Dixon, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Siya Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Zachary Porthen, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese.
Backs: Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Quan Horn, Herchel Jantjies, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe.
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