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Springbok Head Coach Rassie Erasmus has named his 37-man squad that will face the Wallabies in the first two matches of the Rugby Championship in August 2025 in South Africa.
Springbok Head Coach Rassie Erasmus has named his 37-man squad that will face the Wallabies in the first two matches of the Rugby Championship in August 2025 in South Africa.
The selections include 24 Rugby World Cup-winners as well as five players who made their Test debuts during their successful Castle Lager Incoming Series at home. The squad includes 20 forwards and 17 backline players.
Erasmus said that composition was selected to cover the positions. “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 36 players.”
There have also been call-ups for three winners of the recent U20 World Rugby Championship side who defeated New Zealand in the final in Italy to train with the senior Men’s squad for the two-week conditioning camp in Johannesburg; Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead.
The Head Coach elaborated, “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… We were thrilled to see the talent coming through the junior ranks, so we opted to invite three of them to join us to expose them to our structures and the standards required at top international level.
We believe this camp will benefit them significantly, and we are excited to see how they slot in and train with us.”
The five players who earned their first Springbok Test caps in the recent wins over Italy and Georgia are: Ethan Hooker (utility back), Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Boan Venter (both props), Marnus van der Merwe (hooker), and Cobus Wiese (utility forward).
Erasmus explained, “It’s always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands during the Castle Lager Incoming Series, but we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
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.”
One of the individual milestones to keep an eye on over the coming months is flyhalf Handre Pollard’s personal tally of 797 Test points in 82 tests as he closes in on the Bok record held by Percy Montgomery, who scored 893 points in 102 Tests.
One player who will be absent from the conditioning camp before the team heads down under is Bath prop Thomas du Toit, who has been granted a compulsory two-week rest as agreed with the Gallagher Premiership.
Suspended No. 8 Jasper Wiese, who is currently serving a four-week suspension, was ruled out of the squad selection, while some players were released back to their respective clubs.
Erasmus said, “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.”
Those standby players include: Lukhanyo Am (centre), Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Makazole Mapimpi (wing), Salmaan Moerat (lock), Evan Roos (No 8), Neethling Fouche (prop), and Vincent Tshituka (flanker).
South Africa are defending champions of the Rugby Championship, which features New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina.
Of the opposition, Erasmus said, “Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina are all ranked in the top seven in the world, and if one considers that we won the Castle Lager Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019 last year, it is clear that this will be a completely different kettle of fish.
All three teams have beaten us in the last few years and they play a different style of rugby to the other opposition we have faced thus far, but we are pleased with the foundation we laid in the last few weeks and we know exactly what areas of our game we need to work on going into the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.”
Thus far, South Africa beat the Barbarians 54-7 in an uncapped game, before scoring 87 points and conceding just 24 in the two wins over Italy, and beat Georgia 55-10.
The Springboks will face the Wallabies in Johannesburg on Saturday, 16 August, and the following week in Cape Town at DHL Stadium on 23 August.
The Wallabies beat Fiji narrowly and are currently 1-0 down in the three-match series against the British & Irish Lions. In last year's Rugby Championship, the Boks beat the Wallabies twice away from home.
The Boks then travel to New Zealand, where they will face the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on 6 September and the Sky Stadium in Wellington on 13 September, respectively. They will hope to become the first team to inflict a defeat on the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1994. NZ recently completed a clean sweep of France, beating them 3-0 at home. Erasmus will announce his squad for the two-match tour to New Zealand in September.
South Africa completes the Championship with Test matches against Argentina in Durban on Saturday, 27 September, and in London on 4 October. The Pumas beat the British & Irish Lions but then lost twice to an under-strength English team at home. Argentina were the only team to beat SA in the 2024 Rugby Championship.