Rassie Erasmus named his 46-man squad for the upcoming Nations Championship on Tuesday, and it’s a group that mixes proven World Cup winners with six players who have never worn a Springbok jersey in a Test match. That’s a lot of new faces for a team that started its 2026 season by hanging 80 points on the Barbarians.
The uncapped six are Riley Norton, Vusi Moyo, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Carlu Sadie and Jaco Williams. Three of them — Norton, Moyo and Williams — are still basically kids who played for South Africa’s Under-20s recently. But Erasmus says they’ve earned the shot after showing out against the Barbarians and in SA ‘A’ games.
“They all proved … that they have what it takes to play at the highest level,” Erasmus said in the team announcement. “As coaches, we are fortunate that we’ve had the opportunity to work with them in the last two weeks.” He added that the newcomers are familiar with the standards and culture of the Springbok setup. So they’re not walking in completely cold.
Rugby World Cup winner Herschel Jantjies returns
Herschel Jantjies is back in the fold after a stretch away from the national team. The scrum-half who scored a try in the 2019 World Cup final hasn’t been a regular fixture lately, but his form this season earned him another look. Same goes for Embrose Papier, who hasn’t played a Test since 2018. Both scrum-halves made strong cases with their clubs, according to Erasmus.
The squad also includes 12 Bulls players who just finished their United Rugby Championship season. Thomas du Toit comes in after Bath’s Premiership campaign wrapped up. So there’s a lot of guys joining camp with fresh legs and recent game time, which should help with the quick turnaround before the first match.
Springbocks open against England
South Africa kicks off the Nations Championship against England, then faces Scotland and Wales later in the month. After that, they fly to Argentina for a one-off Test against Los Pumas. That’s four matches in a short window, and Erasmus clearly wants depth. You don’t name 46 players unless you expect to use most of them.
The full squad list runs deep at almost every position. Props include Ox Nche, Gerhard Steenekamp and Carlu Sadie. The locks have Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager. Back row options include Siya Kolisi, Jasper Wiese and the versatile Pieter-Steph du Toit. At fly-half, Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok are joined by young Vusi Moyo. And the back three features Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian Willemse among others.
Erasmus said most of the Bulls players have been in the system before, so they know the structures. They’ll get a week to settle in before real Test-week prep starts. That’s the plan anyway.
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