South Africa call-up five uncapped players in preparation for Rugby Championship

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus continues to invest heavily in the young talent of the country.

South African Under-20 captain Salmaan Moerat, Marco van Staden, Damian Willemse, John Schickerling and Cobus Wiese are the five uncapped players invited to a Bok training camp in Stellenbosch.

The camp only consists of players from the Stormers and Bulls – serving as preparation for next month’s Rugby Championship.

Erasmus confirmed that players from the Lions and Sharks will join the training camp once they’ve completed their Super Rugby commitments.

Stormers players Willemse (flyhalf) and Moerat (lock) both starred for the Junior Springboks earlier this year.

They will be joined in Stellenbosch by their franchise teammates Schickerling (lock) and Wiese (flank/lock), who also played for the SA U20 team earlier in their careers, while Van Staden (loose forward) has been in great form for the Bulls.

Also included in the training squad were the experienced Eben Etzebeth (lock), Coenie Oosthuizen (prop) and Trevor Nyakane (prop), all of whom missed the June internationals due to injury.

“I want to thank the franchise coaches for allowing their players to attend the camp, which we view as a very important part of our preparation,” explained Erasmus.

“We’re very pleased that several players got the opportunity to gain Test experience during the June internationals and we are now looking forward to working with more of our most promising players, such as Damian, Salmaan, Marco, JD and Cobus.

“It’s also good to have Eben and Coenie back with us after they’ve spent a considerable amount of time out of action because of injury. Once fit and available again, they will add considerable experience to the squad.”

The bulk of the squad will start with training this week, while a few of the Cape-based players already did some individual training activities under the watchful eye of the Springbok coaching and conditioning staff in Stellenbosch.

Springbok squad for training camp:

Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers), Eben Etzebeth (Stormers), Steven Kitshoff (Stormers), Siyamthandfa Kolisi (Stormers), Wilco Louw (Stormers), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers), Salmaan Moerat (Stormers), Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Stormers), Trevor Nyakane (Bulls), Coenie Oosthuizen (Sharks), John Schickerling (Stormers), Rudolph Snyman (Bulls), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Stormers).

Backs: Damian de Allende (Stormers), Warrick Gelant (Bulls), Jesse Kriel (Bulls), Embrose Papier (Bulls), Handré Pollard (Bulls), Ivan van Zyl (Bulls), Damian Willemse (Stormers).