With preparations for his team’s opening match against the Barbarians in Gqeberha on June 20 starting to ramp up, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a 40-man squad for an alignment camp in Cape Town next week.
Apart from selecting a team to face the BaaBaas, Erasmus will also have to gather an SA A team to take on the Zimbabwe Sables in a game that will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Bok clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
With two teams having to be named to wear the green and gold in Gqeberha, Erasmus has spread his net far and wide in an effort to rope in the SA’s best players.
Erasmus has named a purpose- and goal-driven squad, or the team’s second in-person alignment camp with former Hudson Park schoolboy Sibabalwe Mahashe and the highly rated Zekhethelo Siyaya invited to their first camp.
Embrose Papier, Francke Horn, Andre-Hugo Venter and Henco van Wyk, who have all attended alignment camps in the past, have also been included in the group.
With several experienced national players, who have been in the set-up for several seasons, sidelined due to injury, Erasmus said the purpose of this camp was to expose these players to the team’s structures and systems with an eye on the next two seasons and beyond.
The camp squad — which comprises 25 forwards and 15 backline players — will run from Tuesday to Thursday and includes 10 uncapped players in Paul de Villiers, Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Mahashe, Riley Norton, Haashim Pead, Siyaya, Emmanuel Tshituka, Van Wyk and Jaco Williams, six of whom were invited to the first alignment camp in March.
“This is an exciting group of players, and it’s been pleasing to see them make their presence felt in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and during their teams’ Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup campaigns this season,” Erasmus said.
“This camp will be a good opportunity to expose those invited to our setup and the standards expected of the national coaches. We’re looking forward to involving Sibabalwe, Zekhethelo, Andre, Embrose, Francke and Henco at this camp as we continue to build our squad depth.”
There are several players who are not currently fit to play, and we look forward to seeing them back in action in the near future, knowing they have a good sense of how the team operates and what will be expected of them when they return.”
“It’s important to be clear about the objective of this alignment camp and that is to expose these players to our environment, our standards and the way we operate.
“The players who will not be present, whether through injury or workload, remain in our plans, and each one of them is on his own path with his own set of timelines.
“This week will give us the chance to align those who are fit and firing now with the way we want to operate so that when an opportunity arises either this year or further down the line, they are ready to step up and deliver at an international level.”
Springbok alignment camp squad:
Forwards: Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Neethling Fouche, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Salmaan Moerat, Riley Norton, Zachary Porthen, Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter (all Stormers); Bathobele Hlekani, Francke Horn, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (all Lions); Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese (all Bulls); Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Emmanuel Tshituka (all Sharks)
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard (all Bulls); Andre Esterhuizen, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams, Jaco Williams (all Sharks); Quan Horn, Haashim Pead, Henco van Wyk, Morne van den Berg (all Lions); Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse (both Stormers). — Additional reporting SA Rugby Communications
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