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Saturday 28th June sees the Barbarians take on the Springboks in Cape Town for the Qatar Airways Cup, and now that we know more about both squads, all the playing personnel are there for a highly entertaining match, which will be the first time the two sides compete on South African soil.
*Updated 27 June due to player changes.
The only potential dampener is the predicted wet weather in the Cape. Historically, the two teams have faced off eight times previously, and the Baabaas have edged out the current World Champions 4 times to three wins and one draw.
The matches have yielded more than 300 points and more than 50 tries, and the flamboyant style of rugby the Barbarians are famous for should ensure more of the same, while Springbok Head Coach Rassie Erasmus has picked probably a much stronger team than most would have expected to kickstart their international season.
The Springbok Head Coach said of the Barbarians “They don’t have much time to train together as a group, but if one looks at the calibre of players they have announced so far and the history between the teams over the years, we know it’s going to take a top-class effort to get the desired result.”
Attack coach Tony Brown said the day before the Springboks unveiled their squad for the match that the Boks want to maintain the standards that saw them win 11 of 13 Tests in 2024.
“I think the Barbarians are a famous side worldwide and everyone knows how they play, what they try to do, and the style that they’ve got to uphold as being a Barbarians team, so we’re pretty aware of what’s coming and it’s unpredictable rugby.”
“It’s definitely a different challenge from what we normally would have. The Barbarians have always knocked over a lot of great sides over the years, so for us, around that challenge, it’s massive, so exactly what we want for our… I guess we’ll call it our first Test for the year.”
We need to get our coaching right, we need to get our plans right, and we always win Test matches through putting the opposition under pressure, whether it’s attack and defence, so that’ll be our plan against the Baa Baas.”
All week the messaging has been the same: that the experienced and multinational coaching staff are preparing for this as they would any test match. It's a crucial game time before the upcoming tests against Italy and Georgia, and then the Rugby Championship, and the selections and rhetoric have suggested that the squads will be rotated, with defending the Webb Ellis trophy in 2027 as the end goal.
There is plenty of experience in the possible Barbarians lineup - Cian Heal (137 caps), Peter O’Mahony (112 caps), Sam Cane (104 caps), while the coaching setup includes two-time Rugby World Cup champion Sam Whitelock and serial trophy winner Robbie Deans as Head Coach.
For the past few media sessions, Rassie and the players have been asked about the historical significance of the first RWC win in 1995, as the 30th anniversary (before a lot of the current crop of players were born) has been celebrated on the day of the squad announcement and a new line of heritage apparel has been released to recognise the occasion.
The Springboks' new playing kit for the 2025 season pays homage to history and a national emblem, said manufacturer Nike, as the newly designed playing kit honours the heritage of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winners. The kit recreates the one worn by the Boks in their famous win over New Zealand at Ellis Park, but also incorporates elements of the King Protea in the collar design. There are four stars signifying the four Rugby World Cup victories, as well as #ForeverGreenForeverGold on the collar.
The alternate jersey is all-white with the Protea collar in traditional bottle green.
The Boks have selected uncapped props Asenathi Ntlabakanye to start, and Neethling Fouche as well as newly eligible Vincent Tshituka on the flank and Marnus van der Merwe at hooker on the bench.
Head Coach Rassie Erasmus adressed the media for about an hour in which he shed some remarkable insights on some of the player selections and the Springbok approach to the year. One of these tales was the attendance of Asenathi Ntlabakanye to forwards coach Daan Human’s farm in Bloemfontein to get 1-1 coaching and conditioning which the Bok coach has labelled Kamp Daandraad on social media.
The SA Rugby coaches and the recently victorious SA Cricket coaches have also been exchanging ideas on coaching and management and what has been working in both camps.
It was just one of many insights into a team and management that continue to innovate and approach things differently. Cheslin Kolbe had said this had been one of his toughest conditioning camps and new recruit Vincent Tshituka echoed this to the media, sayng they were new fitness and conditining drills. “It tested me in a way that I am not used to. It was tough and in the best way possible and it was game specific stuff.”
He also admitted that being in his first Springbok setup (he has been in alignment camps previously) was like working with his heroes and people he had grown up watching - singling out Pieter-Steph du Toit as one of his heroes but appreciated how open the squad is. “Nobody’s door is closed and everyone is working together to achieve the same thing and there is a togetherness, so everyone is trying to make this boat go faster.”
Rassie said the fitness tests implememted were fit for purpose for the players and the roles they wold have when playing for the Springboks and that ‘battle stats’ were still important to see how players were having an impact on games.
He told the media on Tuesday, “We’ve said over the last few weeks that this match will provide the ideal opportunity to get the Japanese-based players and a few other players back into full match-mode for the Castle Lager Incoming Series, while we also have the opportunity to see first-hand how a few of the newer players in the squad perform at this level, so we are excited to see what this group can do. We are planning to rotate our squad throughout the season to manage the players, and we are pleased with the depth we have within this group.”
Notably, Lood de Jager will play for the Springboks, albeit an uncapped match, for the first time since 2023 and partners up with Jean Kleyn in the second row. De Jager is one of seven players in the matchday squad who compete in the Japan Rugby League One.
Erasmus said of de Jagers return, ”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.”
The backline in particular is exciting. The Sharks Aphelele Fassi, Suntory’s Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse, after spending a season in Japan, form the back three. Rugby World Cup-winning centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel (vice-captain) will look after the midfield, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at flyhalf and Morne van den Berg at scrumhalf. Erasmus said of the Emirates Lions scrumhalf that he was one of the fiitest players in the group based on recent tests and compared him to the likes of Aaron Smith.
The coach also tried to temper down the hype over Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu but is fully confodent the player will grow into his role at the international level and balance the spectacular magic he can bring with calm decision-making and that he is being supported by coach Tony Brown and teamate Handre Pollard.
The loose trio consists of Jean-Luc du Preez, Tshituka, and Marco van Staden, and the starting hooker is Malcolm Marx alongside Ox Nche at loosehead prop.
The bench includes Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Van der Merwe, Wessels, and Fouche as the replacement forwards in a split of five forwards and three backs. Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok, and Andre Esterhuizen start on the bench.
Players who competed in the United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership Finals were largely not considered, including most of the Vodacom Bulls, RG Snyman, and Handre Pollard. Only Vodacom Bulls utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been included in the match-23 from the group of players who competed in the URC final.
Jesse Kriel will appointed as the Springboks captian after coach Rassie Erasmus was forced to make a late change to his team on Friday, following the withdrawal of Siya Kolisi due to a niggle.
15 Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 11 caps, 35 points (7t)
14 Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath) – 40 caps, 111 points (18t, 3c, 5p)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 79 caps, 90 points (18t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 87 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps, 90 points (18t)
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 52 points (14c, 48p)
9 Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions) – 2 caps, 0 points
8 Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks) – 14 caps 10 points (2t)
7 Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks) - uncapped
6 Siya Kolisi (captain, Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 92 caps, 60 points (12t) * replaced by Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 25 caps, 10 points (2t)
5 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 66 caps, 25 points (5t)
4 Jean Kleyn (Munster) – 7 caps, 0 points
3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Emirates Lions) – uncapped
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 76 caps, 105 points (21t)
1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 39 caps, 0 points
Replacements:
16 Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets) - uncapped
17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 5 points (1t)
18 Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers) - uncapped
19 Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 78 caps, 20 points (4t)
20 Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 51 caps, 45 points (9t)
21 Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 39 caps, 70 pts (14t)
22 Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 19 caps, 98 pts (1t, 30c, 11p)
23 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 19 caps, 0 points
