Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday named four uncapped players in a quality team to face the Barbarians.
Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop) and Vincent Tshituka (flanker) have both been named in a relatively experienced starting lineup, while Marnus van der Merwe (hooker) and Neethling Fouche (prop) will feature alongside a few Rugby World Cup-winners and seasoned campaigners on the replacements bench.
Another notable inclusion in the starting team was Lood de Jager, who will partner up with Jean Kleyn in the engine room. The experienced lock is back for his first Test since the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks in New Zealand, which was his only Test in the last two seasons following a string of injuries.
Players from the Bulls players, as well as RG Snyman (lock), and Handre Pollard (flyhalf), only joined the squad last week following their involvement in the United Rugby Championship and Premiership finals.
As a result, only Bulls utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been included in the match-23 from this group of players.
The squad assembled in Cape Town on Sunday afternoon after two weeks of training in Johannesburg and started their on-field match preparations on Monday. They were also joined by utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit, who has recovered from his injury, taking the size of the squad to 46 players.
Springbok team to face the Barbarians in Cape Town:
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, 8p)
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)
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
Springbok record against the Barbarians:
Played 8, Won 3; Lost 4; Drawn 1. Points for: 150; Points against: 154; Tries Scored 23; Tries conceded 29; Highest score: 41; Biggest win 14 points. Win % 38%.
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