Rassie trims Boks for Rugby Championship: No Faf, newbies make their mark

News24

5 days ago

The Springboks have named a 37-man squad for their first two matches in the 2025 Rugby Championship.
There are some big omissions, including Faf de Klerk, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has also invited three Junior Boks to join a two-week training camp ahead of the tournament.
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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a 37-man squad for the first two Tests of their 2025 Rugby Championship campaign against Australia next month.
The Boks will host the Wallabies on 16 August (Johannesburg) and 23 August (Cape Town).
A number of players, including some big names, who featured in the recently completed three incoming Tests against Italy and Georgia have been released.
They include Faf de Klerk, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Salmaan Moerat, Evan Roos, Neethling Fouche and Vincent Tshituka, who are all on standby.
Elsewhere, there is a familiar feel while newbies Ethan Hooker (utility back), Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Boan Venter (both props), Marnus van der Merwe (hooker), and Cobus Wiese (utility forward) have all kept their places.
Erasmus has also invited three players from the Junior Springbok World Cup-winning squad to join the Boks during their two-week conditioning camp in Johannesburg starting on Sunday, 27 July.
They are Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste, and Haashim Pead.
Prop Thomas du Toit, who plays his rugby in England with Bath, has been given a standard two-week rest as requested by the English Premiership, though he can be called up at any stage should the need arise, while No 8 Jasper Wiese is currently serving a four-week suspension, ruling him out of this squad.
There are nine Bulls, 11 Sharks, four Stormers, two Lions and 11 overseas-based players in the squad.
'It's always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands... but we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Rugby Championship,' said Erasmus in a statement.
'This group includes several experienced players and a few younger guys, who grabbed their chances in the last few Tests, so we are pleased with this squad for the first two matches.
'We have also informed the players on standby what our plans are and what we expect from them, so that all of them are ready to step up if needed.'
Erasmus said one of the major strengths of the squad was its versatility.
'We probably have three players who can cover each position, which is important in this competition, so it was a thorough process to narrow down the group to 37 players,' he said.
'One of our key pillars as a team is to build squad depth, and there is no better way to see what some of the younger players are capable of than to expose them to some of the top teams in the world.'