Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus ensures no player is left behind as preparations for the 2025 season ramp up. Image: SABC Sport.
(The Post News)– Rassie Erasmus has extended invitations to 26 players—primarily overseas-based stars, promising youngsters, and injured Boks—for the first virtual Springbok alignment camps of the year. These sessions, set for Wednesday, 27 March, follow an in-person camp in Cape Town running from 10 to 12 March.
To accommodate different time zones, Erasmus and his coaching staff will conduct two separate virtual meetings: one for players in Japan and another for those playing in the northern hemisphere and South Africa. This virtual group complements the 56 players invited to the Cape Town camp, ensuring a broad player base is engaged with the national structures ahead of a demanding season. Eighteen of the 26 invitees have already lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, while four other capped Boks also make the list. The only newcomer is Jonathan Roche, who earns his first Bok alignment camp call-up. The remaining locally based players have previously worn the green and gold or attended similar camps before.
Erasmus emphasised the importance of ensuring all players under consideration are well-versed in the team’s strategies and objectives for the upcoming season. He noted that the same information shared during the Cape Town camp would be presented virtually to maintain consistency across all players. He also stressed that while many of the invited players have already been part of a World Cup-winning squad, maintaining success requires continuous adaptation and growth. According to him, the focus extends beyond just the current season, with long-term planning leading up to the 2027 World Cup in Australia being a key priority.
The Boks are exploring options for a pre-Castle Lager Incoming Series match before their July Tests against Italy (5 and 12 July) and Georgia (19 July). They’ll then turn their attention to defending their Rugby Championship title from August to October, before wrapping up the year with the traditional end-of-year tour in November.
Players Invited to the Virtual Springbok Alignment Camps:
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 (DHL Stormers), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Trevor Nyakane (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Siya Masuku (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Jonathan Roche (DHL Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Nico Steyn (Emirates Lions), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
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