𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐁𝐘 𝐔𝟐𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐒’𝐒 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named his 37-man squad for the upcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship, where South Africa will face Australia in two matches next month.

The matches will take place on August 16th at Ellis Park in Johannesburg and on August 23rd at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

The squad includes 24 World Cup winners, 5 debutants (from July), and the newly crowned World Rugby U20 Championship winners, Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead.

𝗘𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗺𝘂𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

“We probably have three players who can cover each position, which is important in this competition. It was a thorough process to narrow down the group to 37 players. 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,” he explained on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Looking ahead, Erasmus hinted at another announcement for their upcoming tour to New Zealand in September, where they will face their arch-rivals before taking on Argentina later that month in Durban and London.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟳-𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽:

Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls).

Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).