Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has explained why he invited three Junior Springboks players to his squad for the first two tests in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Australia.
The Springboks will host the Wallabies on 16 and 23 August at Ellis Park Stadium and Cape Town Stadium, respectively.
Erasmus selected a strong 37-man squad on Wednesday. He also extended an invitation to the Junior Springboks Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste, and Haashim Pead to train with the group during their two-week conditioning camp in Johannesburg starting on Sunday.
The trio helped guide the Junior Springboks to winning the World Rugby U20 Championship when they beat New Zealand 23-15 at the weekend.
“We are tremendously proud of the Junior Springboks for winning the World Rugby U20 Championship. And we were thrilled to see the talent coming through the junior ranks,” he said.
“So we opted to invite three of them to join us to expose them to our structures and the standards required at the 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.
“Unfortunately, we had to limit the size of the squad to ensure maximum outputs and more individual attention at our training sessions. So although more players could have been invited, we could only select three.”
Erasmus elaborated on the composition of the rest of the squad.
“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.
“We have also informed the players on standby what our plans are. And also what we expect from them, so that all of them are ready to step up if needed, Erasmus said.
The standby players are Lukhanyo Am (centre), who missed the July tests due to a knee niggle. Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Makazole Mapimpi (wing) and Salmaan Moerat (lock). Evan Roos (No 8), Neethling Fouche (prop), and Vincent Tshituka (flanker).
Springbok final squad to face Australia:
Forwards: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch and Siya Kolisi. Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje and Asenathi Ntlabakanye. Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese.
Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux and Manie Libbok. Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Edwill van der Merwe, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse.
