Rassie Erasmus plays it very safe with first Springbok Rugby Champs squad
The Springboks will next be in action against Australia when the Rugby Championship gets underway in a few weeks' time. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus sprung a bit of a surprise by playing it very safe with his first squad of probably three for their defence of their Rugby Championship title, with the competition kicking off next month.
Erasmus has been known for his unpredictability over the past few years, but didn't make any big changes from the group that took part in the mid-year Tests, essentially just reducing his squad for the Rugby Champs.
The big omissions from the squad are experienced scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and wing Makazole Mapimpi, with upcoming stars Morne van den Berg and Edwill van der Merwe backed with a strong look to the future.
Morne van den Berg appears to now be a regular in the Bok set-up. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Omissions
As usual a premium has also been placed on utility value as Salmaan Moerat, who has captained the Boks a number of times over the last few years, has been left out along with Evan Roos, a specialist No 8.
Cobus Wiese, who is primarily a four lock, but was backed at eighthman against Georgia and can cover seven and six, gets Erasmus' backing for the Rugby Champs.
The only other players to drop out of the squad that was picked for the invitational Barbarians game and incoming series against Italy and Georgia, are Jasper Wiese, due to suspension, Thomas du Toit, due to resting protocols, Jean Kleyn, due to injury, and Neethling Fouche and Vincent Tshituka, who made their respective Bok debuts in the last month.
Moerat, Roos, Fouche and Tshituka have all been released to their franchises and are available for the Currie Cup, though they have been included on the standby list along with De Klerk and Lukhanyo Am, who missed the mid-year Tests with a knee injury, and all can be called up at short notice if needed.
Lukhanyo Am is on standby, after failing to get into the Bok squad this season. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
Junior Bok stars
Where Erasmus has continued to think outside the box is bringing in young and inexperienced players who have recently shone, to give them a taste of Springbok rugby, and this time has included three Junior Bok stars Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead in the training squad.
All three were immense in the Junior Boks' World Rugby U20 Championship winning campaign, with scrumhalf Pead electrifying in scoring six tries, outside back Jooste brilliant in all round play, and utility forward Hlekani an absolute battering ram.
All three will train with the Boks' senior squad for a week or two, before being released back to their franchises, and being available to play in the Currie Cup.
Due to the injury absence of men such as props Gerhard Steenekamp and Ntuthuko Mchunu, Erasmus has retained rookie Boan Venter after a solid debut against Georgia and could be given a run at some stage against the Wallabies.
The Boks are off this week, but return to training from Sunday. The Boks' first match in the Rugby Championship, against Australia, is on 16 August.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
7 minutes ago
- IOL News
Tristan Leyds aims to ignite Western Province's attack against Griquas in Currie Cup clash
Western Province fullback Tristan Leyds will be looking to slice through the Griquas defence again when the two sides face each other on Friday in the Currie Cup. Image: BackpagePix Western Province roped in the experience of Jurie Matthee at flyhalf for their Currie Cup clash against Griquas on Friday in Kimberley (3 pm start). Head coach Labeeb Levy made an additional four changes to the side that was beaten by the Lions this past weekend as they look to turn around their poor start to the season against a revitalised Northern Cape side. Province is currently winless after two matches and will target the clash against the Peacock Blues to kickstart their campaign. 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 Next Stay Close ✕ Matthee picked up a concussion in the pre-season and is finally fit to take up the flyhalf role. He is expected to provide greater stability in their ranks as he steps in for the injured Kyle Smith. Sevens veteran Justin Geduld takes over as outside centre, while playmaker Tristan Leyds, also a Sevens star, will get his first start at fullback. It is expected that Leyds will also feature at first receiver for WP to spark their attack. He has added an extra dynamic with the ball in hand in both of their previous two games when he came on as a replacement. 'Our whole plan is to create cohesion on the side, and that is why we decided last week to give Shilton an extended run at the back. We were always going to bring Tristan in after a couple of games,' Levy explained the change at fullback. Five changes to our starting XV for the Carling Currie Cup clash in Kimberley on Friday afternoon. 📢 Team announcement #wpjoulekkerding — WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) August 7, 2025 'We are not dropping Shilton in any way. Tristan can bring his dimension to his game when he gets that opportunity. We've told the group there will be opportunities given based on how you train and play and the standards you produce. 'He (Leyds) has done that, especially at training and he has received his opportunity to shine.' Levy stressed that they are taking the Currie Cup seriously and the improvement over the last two games, against teams stacked with players who have plenty of experience in the United Rugby Championship (URC), shows it. Winning streaks on the line. Unbeaten starts under threat. Round three of the Carling #CurrieCup is ready to explode 💥#WhereChampionsRise | #PremierRugbyRealPassion — The Carling Currie Cup (@TheCurrieCup) August 6, 2025
The South African
7 minutes ago
- The South African
Where is 'absent' Juarno Augustus after Springbok call-up?
When Juarno Augustus emerged as the standout Junior Springbok star and Player of the Tournament in the 2017 U20 Championship, very few would have predicted that he would remain uncapped at Springbok level at the age of 27. Nevertheless, his outstanding form for the Northampton Saints last season did not go unnoticed, and he finally received his first call-up to a Springbok alignment camp earlier this year. With the likes of Cameron Hanekom and Elrigh Louw injured, it appeared to the be the perfect opportunity for Augustus to make his senior Springbok debut after gaining some all-important experience overseas. Yet, Augustus was ultimately unable to report for duty with the Springboks, and the powerful loose forward remained out of the picture when Rassie Erasmus revealed the squad for the start of the Rugby Championship? Unfortunately, matters have become complicated at club level after Augustus took the difficult decision to leave Northampton and make a move to Irish club Ulster. Augustus needed to be cleared by Northampton Saints to join Irish team Ulster, but he failed his exit medical, and ultimately SA Rugby cannot interfere with this process until it is cleared up. Although his exact injury has not been specified, it also appears that it is perhaps more serious than first thought. 'He's struggling with his back, if I remember correctly,' Erasmus told the media recently .'He's also between two clubs now. We can't bring him in with an injury and do the rehabilitation, but he's still with Ulster. So it's a bit of a technical one.' It now appears unlikely that Augustus will feature in the Rugby Championship, and he may need to once again rediscover some form and fitness at club level before finally getting his long-awaited opportunity with the Springboks.
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- The Citizen
Boland coach happy with 'good start' but wants improved showing against Lions
The Cavaliers will want to concede less penalties than in their first two games when they take on the Lions in their Currie Cup clash in Wellington on Sunday. It has been a solid start to life back in the upper echelons of the Currie Cup for the Boland Cavaliers, after returning to the Premier Division for the first time since 2016, with them opening with a win and an entertaining loss in their first two games. They stunned the Cheetahs 37-35 in an epic encounter at the Boland Stadium in Wellington to get their campaign off to the best possible start, before giving the Griquas a run for their money during a 48-39 loss in Kimberley last weekend. Both games were thrilling affairs, with a number of brilliant tries scored, but defences on both sides were found wanting on a number of occasions. Despite picking up six points already, and sitting a handy fifth on the Currie Cup log, Cavaliers coach Hawies Fourie is expecting more, and improving on the number of penalties they have conceded in the first two games is key to doing that. Penalty pressure 'We have put a lot of pressure on ourselves with the number of penalties we have conceded in the first two games,' explained Fourie. 'Against the Cheetahs, in the second half, we conceded eight penalties and only received one, before the final 10 minutes, when we got three in that sequence to come back and score two tries to win the game. 'In the whole Griquas game we conceded 15 penalties while only having four go our way. So it is important for us not to concede so many penalties when we are under pressure.' Fourie continued: 'Stopping of the (opposition) mauls and our scrums have been the main source of penalties (against us), so we have been working hard on that and I am confident we will be better in those areas this coming weekend. 'If we are not then the same sequence will happen. We have to be well disciplined and concede less penalties, so that we can take some pressure off the defence. Because any team will concede tries if they give the opposition 15 set piece entries into their 22m.' Focus on Lions Despite that loss the Cavaliers are now fully focused on their clash with the Lions and know they will need to be at their best to stand any chance of picking up a win, or walking away with as many points as possible to aid their lofty goal of making it into the competition playoffs. 'We said to ourselves that we want to compete in this competition and set ourselves a goal of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the semifinals. It is a tough ask but we have high expectations for ourselves,' said Fourie. 'So getting off to a reasonably good start makes a big difference. We were in a position to beat the Griquas in Kimberley which doesn't happen very often. We threw that away with a lot of penalties and turnovers conceded, and they were just too good for us in that last period. 'That was disappointing. I feel if we could have pulled that one off we would have been in a really strong position. But there are still five games left and I think we need about 13 or 14 points from them to get into the semifinals.'
