Masuku, Roche, Steyn join World Cup veterans in Bok camps

Eighteen World Cup-winning Springboks and a bunch of promising youngsters have been invited to attend a virtual Springbok alignment camp on Wednesday, 27 March, following the first in-person camp in Cape Town from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 March.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus last week named a group of 56 players, all SA-based, to attend the year’s first alignment camp.

The virtual camp will be with mainly overseas-based players as well as a few potential stars of the future and players Erasmus wants to get to know better.

In total 26 players will be involved in this get-together, among them rising stars such as Sharks No 10 Siya Masuku, Stormers centre Jonathan Roche, Lions scrumhalf/flyhalf Nico Steyn and Scarlets based hooker Marnus van der Merwe.

The group also includes formerly discarded World Cup winning No 9 Faf de Klerk as well as injury-plagued Lood de Jager, the Du Preez twins, Dan and Jean-Luc, as well as the injured Elrigh Louw and veteran prop Trevor Nyakane.

Erasmus along with his assistant coaches and management team will host two virtual sessions on the day – one with the Japanese-based players and the other with the players playing in the northern hemisphere and domestically – to accommodate their respective time zones.

‘Everyone on same page’

“It is vital for us that all the players on our radar are exposed to our plans and goals for the season, so we intend to replicate our presentations to the group in Cape Town with these players, so everyone is on the same page as we embark on this challenging season,” said Erasmus.

“With a wide group of players invited to the respective alignment camps, we are excited to grow our player base and expose all these individuals to the national structures, as well as to explain what our expectations are of them for the forthcoming season.

“Many of these players have won a World Cup before, but we made it clear before the 2023 showpiece in France that we have to continue adapting and improving to remain at the top of our game – not only this season but also as we build toward the 2027 World Cup in Australia.”

Erasmus said options are being investigated for a match prior to the Incoming Series, when the Boks take on Italy in back-to-back Tests on 5 and 12 July, followed by a clash against Georgia on 19 July.

The Boks will then defend their Rugby Championship title against Australia, New Zealand and Argentina between August and October, before the traditional Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November.

Players invited to the virtual Springbok alignment camps (in alphabetical order):

Kurt-Lee Arendse (Dynaboars), Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager (both Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Dan du Preez, Jean-Luc du Preez (both Sale Sharks), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (Montpellier), Herschel Jantjies (Stormers), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Elrigh Louw (Bulls), Trevor Nyakane (Sharks), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Siya Masuku (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Jonathan Roche (Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Nico Steyn (Lions), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).