Rugby: Turning of the tide? Rassie Erasmus shocks fans with Springboks end-of-year tour squad selection
Huge calls made as Erasums announces 36-man squad for November Europe tour
From trick plays to the birth of the infamous ‘Bomb Squad’, South African rugby fans have become somewhat accustomed to Rassie Erasmus doing things out of the ordinary, and the Boks’ director of rugby has sprung a fair few surprises with his latest squad announcement.
The Springboks will end 2025 with a tour of Europe, where they will face Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales across the five Saturdays in November, and all the matches will be covered live on our rugby livescore tool here at SportyTrader.
Earlier this week, Erasmus named the 36-member squad that will travel north next month, which includes a first-time call-up for prop Zachary Porthen, while Ben-Jason Dixon, Gerhard Steenekamp and Johan Grobbelaar could also earn their first caps. Speaking to the media about Porthen’s inclusion, Erasmus said:
"It's also great to see a young player like Zachary, who has emerged through our junior structures, come through the ranks into the senior set-up, and we are excited to see what he can do at this level."
Siya Kolisi will once again lead the team, while there are also three players set to return from injury in Kurt-Lee Arendse, Edwill van der Merwe and Jean Kleyn, the latter of whom has not played for the national team since facing the Barbarians at the start of the year.
In terms of the biggest omissions for the upcoming tour - centurion Willie Le Roux and fellow two-time World Cup winners Faf de Klerk and Vincent Koch have been overlooked, which many have suggested could be an indication of a turning of the tide for the World champs.
South Africa squad list for Autumn Internationals
Erasmus has placed 10 players on standby, including veterans Lukanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi, while Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Frans Malherbe, Trevor Nyakane, Jean-Luc du Preez and Aphelele Fassi have missed out through injury. The squad is as follows:
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Ben-Jason Dixon, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Grobbelaar, Jean Kleyn, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Zachary Porthen, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe, Damian Willemse, Grant Williams
Standby: Juarno Augustus, Neethling Fouche, Bongi Mbonambi, Salmaan Moerat, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Evan Roos, and Vincent Tshituka, Lukhanyo Am, Sebastian de Klerk, Makazole Mapimpi.
