Springboks set to name squad for Ireland after positive Welsh outing

The Springboks will be naming their squad for the incoming series against Ireland and Portugal on Sunday night or Monday morning, after a successful outing in their opening match of the season against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Boks were made to work hard, but in the end cruised to a 41-13 win in a game that fell outside of the international window, which meant that their European and UK based players, as well as players from the Bulls, were unavailable for selection.

A number of changes are thus expected to be made to the 35-man training squad that was named for the Welsh game, which featured 11 uncapped players, with that number now down to seven after four of them made their debuts.

Players available

Players based in the UK and Europe such as Bok captain Siya Kolisi, Steven Kitshoff, Cobus Reinach, Jean Kleyn and Trevor Nyakane could be picked, while some injured players like Lukhanyo Am and Damian Willemse could make their return if fit enough.

A host of Bulls players like Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp could also be brought into the squad.

However a number of those players are injured and already ruled out of the first Irish Test, with Bok coach Rassie Erasmus previously saying that Kitshoff, Kleyn, Lood de Jager, Jaden Hendrikse, Willemse and Moodie would not be fit in time, so it will be interesting to see if they will be picked.  

“We will announce the squad for the Irish series on Sunday night or Monday morning. It will be a 35 to 40 man squad, but we might call in (more) guys here and there, depending on how the Irish series goes, who we will give a chance against Portugal,” explained Erasmus.

“One week we might have four or five guys extra training with us to get the experience of being in the squad. Like Andre-Hugo Venter and Neethling (Fouche), as well as a few of the Bulls guys who haven’t had this experience yet.

“So it won’t be a whole other team that trains with us, it will just be a bit of an extended squad. We just need to get on top of the injuries.”

Welsh performance

Looking at the Welsh game Erasmus admitted it wasn’t a complete performance, but one they were content with as they build into the rest of the season.

“It wasn’t a perfect performance. We made a few errors and there were things that didn’t click, but there were others that did, so it was a good start,” said Erasmus.

“We have new coaches and had a few players making their debuts, so there were areas of the game that were not as good as we would have liked it to be, but there was certainly no lack of effort and intensity, and we realise it will take time for things to come together nicely.

“The important thing is that we achieved our goal and the players who made their debuts showed that they are capable of playing at this level.”

Erasmus continued: “It was a tough match as it always is against Wales. I thought our scrums went well, but we didn’t dominate the collisions. We also conceded a try, but we scored five and we could have scored a more, but those are things we need to work on going forward.

“It was a beneficial game for us because some players were not eligible for selection and a guy like Jasper Wiese is still out (on suspension), while some of the Japanese players haven’t played in a while. But the young guys stepped up to the plate and played really well.”