Stormers trio earn Springboks call up

The Stormers trio of Manie Libbok, Sacha Mngomezulu and Evan Roos will travel to Stellenbosch to join up with the Springbok training camp this weekend.

Meanwhile Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen and Elrigh Louw will no longer join the camp. Goosen misses out as a result of being in the early stages of concussion recovery, while Louw suffered an ankle injury in his side’s Friday night win against Benetton.

Libbok, Mngomezulu and Roos will have a few days to assemble with the rest of the international squad at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport on Sunday, with the three-day camp running until Wednesday. After then, the trio will return to duty with the Stormers.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus will be naming their Springbok and SA ‘A’ squads on Friday for the year-end tour which consists of four Tests and two midweek matches in the upcoming month.

The Boks will play consecutive Tests against Ireland, France, Italy and England on the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour.

The SA ‘A’ team, coached by Mzwandile Stick, will face Munster and the Bristol Bears a week later.

Before the two squads are officially announced, Erasmus has made clear that he wants to give players, and especially the incoming Stormers trio, a chance to adapt to the international set up, before they return to their club ahead of their clash with the Lions on Saturday.

“We are naming a group of 54 players next week for the Springbok and SA ‘A’ squads so it made sense for us to us to invite these players, especially since they will be in Cape Town anyway and have time off,” said Erasmus.

“Evan is a capped Springbok, while Manie and Sacha will be exposed to the national set-up for the first time, and although it is a short camp, this will be an invaluable experience for them. We are excited to see how they slot into the system and what they can do on the field.”

With concussion protocols becoming more prominent across all levels of rugby, Goosen’s absence is not a surprise but Erasmus took the time to explain the omission.

“Johan is recovering from concussion, and given the strict return to play protocols, he will not be able to participate fully in this camp.

“It’s a pity that Elrigh is injured but he has been with us for a while and is very familiar with our structures, and we’ll keep an eye on the extent of his injury.”