Rassie names Bok squad to take on Argentina in one-off Test

A number of formerly injured players are back in the mix. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, and Morne van den Berg will all be in the mix for team selection when the world champions take on Argentina in Buenos Aires next Saturday. This after coach Rassie Erasmus on Friday named a 26-man group to travel to South America for the one off Test. Several players, who have been involved in the team’s opening four matches of the season, such as Cheslin Kolbe, Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, and Ruan Nortje, among others, will reassemble at the team’s training base in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin their preparations for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) Tour against New Zealand. “We tried to get the balance right between giving some guys who are returning from injury and who have not had too much game time in our last four matches a valuable run against Argentina, while at the same time managing the players who have played a lot of rugby this year,” said Erasmus. “The guys who have recovered from their injuries have been training hard this week and are ready to go, so it will be great for them to get a tough Test match under the belt before we face New Zealand. “Several players, meanwhile, have been performing for us week in and week out, so it was important that we manage their workload, while players such as Ox (Nche) and Franco (Mostert) are still on the road to recovery, so next week’s training camp will be useful for them to continue to put in the hard yards and for the injured players to continue their rehabilitation.” Next Saturday’s match kicks off at 9pm. Springbok travelling squad to Argentina: Forwards: Lood de Jager, Ben-Jason Dixon, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Grobbelaar, Cameron Hanekom, Siya Kolisi, Elrigh Louw, Wilco Louw, Zachary Porthen, Gerhard Steenekamp, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese. Backs: Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Quan Horn, Herchel Jantjies, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Edwill van der Merwe.