Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has largely stuck to the players who did duty for the team in their opening two Rugby Championship matches after naming a 36-man touring group for the upcoming Tests against the All Blacks.
With wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe injured, Makazole Mapimpi, who joined the team in Cape Town last week, will make the trip to New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the only forward from the squad that faced Australia who misses out on selection is utility forward Cobus Wiese, who has been placed on standby.
Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship Tests against New Zealand:
Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), 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), 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), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
Backs: 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 (Kintetsu Liners), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers).
Erasmus expected a tremendous test against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington, but he was excited about the challenge ahead.
“The Rugby Championship is still wide open with all four teams having won a match in the first two rounds, so this tour is going to be vital for us, and we’ll certainly take confidence from the win against Australia last week when we board the plane,” said Erasmus.
“Facing the All Blacks in New Zealand is a massive challenge, but all the teams in this competition are ranked among the top sides in the world, and each one has the potential to beat one another on the day.
“In the last two months alone, Australia defeated us at Ellis Park and went down narrowly in their British & Irish Lions Series defeat, while Argentina defeated New Zealand last weekend and the British & Irish Lions, so we are not paying much attention to our historic records in New Zealand.
“We learned valuable lessons from our first game against Australia, and we know exactly what we have to do to reach our standards and improve as the competition progresses, and I don’t think we need more motivation than that.”
The Springboks play New Zealand on consecutive Saturdays – 6 and 13 September – in Auckland and Wellington, with both Tests kicking off at 09h05 (SA time).
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