Latest news with #CobusWiese
The South African
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
One Wiese replaces another as Springboks make surprise call
As expected, the Springboks have named a new-look team to face Georgia this Saturday, but one selection that should not be overlooked is the decision to start Cobus Wiese at No 8. Cobus' brother Jasper Wiese has just been handed a four-match suspension for a headbutt against Italy, and it did raise the question of who the Springboks might turn to at No 8 in a position that has been somewhat cursed this season. From Cameron Hanekom to Elrigh Louw to Juarno Augustus, unfortunate injuries have deprived the Springboks of expected options in this position. Jean-Luc du Preez and Evan Roos are other contenders at No 8, while Siya Kolisi or Kwagga Smith could be shifted there as a stop-gap measure, but the Springbok coaches have opted to use the final game of the July window to trial Cobus Wiese in an unexpected role. The younger Wiese brother has only just earned his first Test cap, but he does boast all the physical attributes that could see him become a prime candidate to continue at No 8. This Saturday's Test – which kicks off on Saturday at 17:10 – will offer a real 'trial' of sorts for Cobus to make a play for future consideration to remain in the selection mix for the Rugby Championship. The ban handed down to Jasper Wiese will see him the first three Rugby Championship Tests against Australia in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively (16 and 23 August), and the first game against New Zealand in Auckland (6 September). He will be free to play the second All Blacks Test in Wellington (13 September), and the two matches against Argentina in Durban and London (27 September and 4 October), but it will be interesting to see how the Springboks reintegrate him after this latest indiscretion. 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.
The South African
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
Springboks welcome back Kolisi, trio picked for Test debut
The Springboks named an exciting squad for their final Incoming Test against Georgia in Nelspruit, with double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi returning from injury to lead the side, while three uncapped forward players earn Springbok call-ups. Boan Venter starts at prop, while Marnus van der Merwe (hooker) and Neethling Fouche (prop) round out a revamped front row. All three featured in the team's recent 54–7 win against the Barbarians, with Venter joining the squad in June as injury cover. Their inclusion brings the season's newly capped players to seven, alongside Vincent Tshituka, Cobus Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, and Ethan Hooker – who debuted against Italy. Rassie Erasmus voiced confidence in the new players: 'Boan, Marnus, and Neethling have been training hard and deserve their chance.' He added that Van der Merwe and Fouche have taste of international rugby, while Venter has impressed at club level. 'Building squad depth has been one of our pillars since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step‑up.' Kolisi returns to captain the side and joins a loose trio featuring Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cobus Wiese. The Bok captain missed the last three matches while recovering from niggles. Erasmus praised Kolisi's fitness, stating, 'we wanted to make sure that Siya is 100% fit before selecting him.' His return also adds experience – 15 World Cup winners feature in the match-day squad. Only five starters return from last week's 45–0 win over Italy. The back three features Edwill van der Merwe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Aphelele Fassi, with former scoring wing van der Merwe promoted from the bench. Canan Moodie and Damian de Allende form the midfield partnership, while Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg‑Mngomezulu pair up at halfback. Eben Etzebeth partners Ruan Nortje in the second row. Erasmus selected a forward-heavy replacements bench (five forwards to three backs). The forwards include Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi, RG Snyman, and Kwagga Smith. In the backline, Faf de Klerk begins the bench alongside Handré Pollard and Damian Willemse—offering strong tactical cover late in the game. SPRINGBOKS – 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Cobus Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Boan Venter. Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Damian Willemse. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS SPRINGBOKS LINEUP? 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.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Cobus Wiese's rocky journey: From broken neck to finally making his Bok debut
Springbok debutant Cobus Wiese masters a lineout and hands the ball to replacment scrumhalf Cobus Reinach during Saturday's second Test against Italy in Gqeberha. Image: BackpagePix Cobus Wiese is focused on keeping his head down and working harder to get one more Springbok cap after making his debut this past weekend against Italy in Gqeberha. The utility forward, along with his brother Jasper, became the 37th pair of brothers to play for the world champions. However, Jasper copped a silly red card for a headbutt in the 21st minute of the 45-0 victory, which prevented the two from playing together. Cobus (28) felt for his brother and supported him afterwards, but after getting that first cap after a rocky journey to the top, the Bulls forward wants to keep grinding to stay in contention for South Africa. He, alongside Sharks centre Ethan Hooker and Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, made their debut off the bench in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Wiese's debut was seven years in the making. He was a promising young player at the Stormers and received his first Springbok invite in 2018. After breaking his neck at the Stormers and suffering a host of other injuries since then, it prevented him from cracking the nod. Upon returning to South Africa after four years in England, the enforcer found that rhythm again and has been a standout player in Pretoria this past season. 'The hard work starts now to stay here and solidify a place. I always said I wanted one Test and after that one, I want one more,' Wiese said. A special night for Vincent Tshituka, Cobus Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Willie le Roux after the Springboks beat Italy 👏🇿🇦#SSRugby — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 13, 2025 'I will stick to that principle of working hard every week, like it's my first cap to get one more. I don't want to say it's more special, because it is a massive privilege. Having had that many operations and long-term injuries, the biggest one was probably when I was in the squad in 2018, and then breaking my neck. 'To seven years later, and getting my cap. It is amazing. It does make it worthwhile. It is that cliché of don't give up and keep on going. But it is cliché because it is true. It would've been a massive honour back then, it is massive now too.' Wiese says he probably would've played a couple of minutes next to his brother when he came off the bench in the second half. They would've followed in the footsteps of Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse, who last played as brothers together for the world champions against Wales. While he supported Jasper right after the game, he said his brother would 'hear it' from Monday on. Hailing from Upington in the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape has a special connection with Wiese. His in-laws are from Patensie, a small town in the coastal province, and it was an honour for him to make his debut there. 'This was probably the loudest I've heard a crowd on the bench. In the first 10 minutes, we had that Mexican wave going. I could not hear the guy next to me. It's unbelievably special. They love their rugby, and they love coach Rassie (Erasmus). 'The energy they gave us was unbelievable.' The Jasper Wiese headbutt incident. Some say it was soft and should have only been a yellow. It's not about the result or even intent ... it's about the action. Headbutt is a headbutt is a headbutt basically. Red card all day long unfortunately for Jasper. — Front Row Rugby (@FrontRowRugbyXV) July 13, 2025 Jasper, meanwhile, will have a full disciplinary hearing and should hear his fate on Tuesday after the red card he received on Saturday. It is expected that he would receive a lengthy ban after recently returning to action following a layoff due to a red card. He could miss the entire Rugby Championship which means the Springboks will have to make plans with another eighth man. The Boks pledged all their support to the World Cup winning bruiser, but he will be lucky if he escapes with a light punishment.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
‘I wanted one Test, now I want one more' – Cobus Wiese on Bok debut
Cobus Wiese finally made his long awaited Springbok debut, after first making the national team squad back in 2018. Springbok utility forward Cobus Wiese tries to bust through the Italian defence during their match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha over the past weekend. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images It has been a long and difficult road, but new Springbok utility forward Cobus Wiese finally managed to make his debut for the national team, when he came on in the second half of the second Test against Italy in Gqeberha over the past weekend. It was a debut seven years in the making, after he was originally called into a wider Springbok squad back in 2018, only to suffer a serious neck injury that scuppered his early Bok aspirations. At that time Wiese was a 21-year-old at the Stormers, and he has since suffered a few more big injuries that have stunted his career, which included a four year stint with Sale Sharks in England, and a fantastic past season with the Bulls that earned him another call-up into the Bok mix. 'I don't want to say it makes it more special, because obviously it's a massive privilege. But to have that many operations and long term injuries, the biggest one was in the (Bok) squad in 2018, when I broke my neck. And to now, seven years later, be getting that cap, it's amazing,' said Wiese. 'It was worth the wait. It's that old cliché of don't give up and keep on going, and it's true. It would have been a massive honour (to make my debut) back then, and even now it's an incredible honour. 'But the hard work starts now, to kind of stay here and solidify my place. I have always said I want one Test, and after that I want one more. So I think I will stick to that principle. Every week I will work hard, like it's my first one (appearance), just to get one more.' Bok brothers During the Boks' entertaining win over Italy, Wiese was supposed to play alongside his older brother Jasper for the first time in their professional careers, but was unable to after the older Wiese received a red card in the first half for a headbutt on an opposition player. Although they will now have to wait to feature together for the first time, they still added their names to a historic list of brothers who have represented the Springboks over the years, and Wiese admitted that he would support Jasper after his transgression, but would soon be giving him stick for it. 'I don't think you can really put it into words (how special it is). We are the 37th pair of brothers in the history of Springbok rugby. So it's an overwhelming sense of pride. When your brother is on the field or in the same team as you, it's easy to get yourself up for it,' explained Wiese. 'Jasper started and went and cancelled himself for 60 minutes. If he had stayed on the pitch we probably would have played together for four or five minutes (before he would have been replaced). 'So I will probably support him tonight (Saturday). Tell him to keep his head up and try bring some positivity into his mind. But then from Monday onwards he's going to hear about it.'
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
14-man Springboks suppress Italy with 7 tries
GQEBERHA, South Africa — South Africa smothered Italy 45-0 with only 14 men at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and swept their two-test rugby series on Saturday. No. 8 Jasper Wiese was sent off in the 22nd minute for head-butting Italy prop Danilo Fischetti. His first international red card spoiled the chance to play with his younger brother Cobus, who made his Springboks debut in the second half.
