By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday named four uncapped players in a quality team to face the Barbarians for the Qatar Airways Cup in Cape Town on Saturday, 28 June.
With the Barbarians being a composite team, no test caps will be awarded for the match but Saturday’s encounter will see prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, flanker Vincent Tshituka, hooker Marnus van der Merwe and prop Neethling Fouche pull on the Green and Gold jersey for the first time, the former duo named in the starting XV.
The clash will also see veteran lock Lood de Jager make his return to the Springboks jersey, having last played for South Africa during the 2023 Rugby Championship before illness ruled him out of the Rugby World Cup.
“Lood is in great form and hopped straight back into the thick of things with the intensity and work rate that we are used to seeing him deliver, and we are thrilled to see him and players like Faf (de Klerk) and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) who missed a large chunk of last season back from injury,” Erasmus said on De Jager’s return after an extended stint on the sidelines.
De Jager partners Jean Kleyn in the second-row while Tshituka is joined in the back-row by captain Siya Kolisi and number eight Jean-Luc du Preez.
Ntlabakanye starts at tighthead with Malcolm Marx at hooker and Ox Nche featuring at loosehead prop.
Morne van den Berg is the starting scrum-half and partners Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with Erasmus fielding the most experienced centre combination in Springboks history in the form of double Rugby World Cup winners Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
The back-three sees Aphelele Fassi start at full-back with Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse named on the wings.
Erasmus has also selected a 5-3 split on the bench with Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith covering the second and back-row, respectively.
Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok and Andre Esterhuizen complete the matchday 23.
“We’ve said over the last few weeks that this match will provide the ideal opportunity to get the Japanese-based players and a few other players back into full match-mode for the Castle Lager Incoming Series, while we also have the opportunity to see first-hand how a few of the newer players in the squad perform at this level, so we are excited to see what this group can do, “said Erasmus.
Springboks team to face the Barbarians
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.