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TimesLIVE
24-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Erasmus names four uncapped players in Bok team to face Barbarians
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday named four uncapped players in a quality team to face the Barbarians for the Qatar Airways Cup at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, in South Africa's opening match of the international season. Prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and flanker Vincent Tshituka have been named in a relatively experienced starting line-up. Hooker Marnus van der Merwe and prop Neethling Fouche will feature alongside a few Rugby World Cup-winners and seasoned campaigners on the replacements' bench. Another notable inclusion in the starting team was Lood de Jager, who will partner up with Jean Kleyn in the engine room. The experienced lock is back for his first Test since the Springboks' 2023 Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks in New Zealand, which was his only Test in the last two seasons after a string of injuries. Players from the Bulls, plus lock RG Snyman and flyhalf Handré Pollard, only joined the squad last week after their involvement in the United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals. As a result, only Bulls utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been included in the match-23 from this group of players.
The South African
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Major injury boost for Springboks
As the Springboks unveiled a strong team to face the Barbarians in Cape Town this Saturday, there was also some other key information shared that is certainly noteworthy ahead of the Test season that gets under way in July. Just over a week ago, star loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit had been released from the camp due to an injury concern, and initial fears were that he could potentially miss the start of the Springboks' international season. However, Du Toit has made a quick recovery, and it was confirmed that he has rejoined the team to prepare for the first two Tests of the year against Italy. Another notable inclusion in the team to face the Barbarians was Lood de Jager, who will partner up with Jean Kleyn in the engine room. The experienced lock is back for his first Test since the Springboks' 2023 Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks in New Zealand, which was his only Test in the last two seasons following a string of injuries. Erasmus was pleased to welcome De Jager back after an extended stint on the sidelines: 'Lood is in great form and hopped straight back into the thick of things with the intensity and work rate that we are used to seeing him deliver, and we are thrilled to see him and players like Faf (de Klerk) and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) who missed a large chunk of last season back from injury.' Meanwhile, players from the Bulls, as well as RG Snyman (lock), and Handre Pollard (flyhalf), only joined the squad last week following their involvement in the United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals. With the Barbarians being a composite team, no Test caps will be awarded for the match. The match kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport. The clash against the Barbarians will be followed by two Tests against Italy (on 5 and 12 July) in Pretoria and Gqeberha respectively, and Georgia in Nelspruit on 19 July in the Incoming Series. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
