Vermeulen is back as Springboks axe 2 players from 41-man squad

Duane Vermeulen has returned to the Springboks camp as Jacques Nienaber named his 41-man squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

Vermeulen and fellow veteran Frans Steyn - who share 134 Test caps between them - both return as Nienaber once again opted for an expanded group of 41 players for the Rugby Championship.

Vermeulen has recovered following surgery to his knee, while Steyn suffered a hamstring injury in June which ruled them out of the Wales series earlier this month.

Their inclusion appears to have come at the cost Aphelele Fassi and Marcell Coetzee, will return to their franchises.

"Cheslin Kolbe (wing) who broke his jaw in the final Test against Wales, has also been omitted from the squad as he is only set to be available for selection in September," read a statement.

Cobus Reinach, who dislocated his shoulder recently, requires medical clearance from Montpellier before he can be considered for selection.

The Springboks will play back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks in Nelspruit on Saturday, 6 August and in Johannesburg a week later on 13 August.

“We are pleased with the enthusiasm and attitude the new players showed in the squad during the Castle Lager Incoming Series, and we feel that this group well worked together throughout the campaign and that we have good cover in all positions, so we opted to keep the majority of the group together for the home leg of Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign,” said Nienaber.

“We will reassess the size of the squad for our tour to Australia and Argentina in the next few weeks.

“Duane and Frans are both very experienced players and they each have valuable traits that they bring to the field of play, so we are excited to welcome them into the fold. This will offer the coaches and medical staff a good opportunity to determine where they are in terms of their rugby.”

Nienaber added: “It is disappointing for Aphelele and Marcell, but we were limited in how many players we could select. That said, we know what both of them can do on the field and we have a big picture in mind with the Rugby World Cup next year.

“We will continue to keep a close eye on them at their provinces as well as all the other players on our radar that were not selected in this group.”

“New Zealand, Australia and Argentina will pose different challenges to Wales, and we realise the importance of hitting the ground running in the first two Tests.

“We will enter the competition with a series win against Wales, which will give us a little confidence, especially after the way we played in the deciding Test against Wales, but back-to-back matches against the All Blacks is a completely different challenge, and we know that they will come here wanting to make amends for losing their last two matches against Ireland.

“The way we perform in those Tests will set the tone for the rest of the competition, which will be equally tough with three matches on tour before playing our final fixture in Durban, but we plan to approach this series one match at a time and to work as hard as possible to get the desired results and to continue to build and gel even stronger as a squad.”

The squad will meet up in Mpumalanga tomorrow and will have a training camp in Hazyview before making the journey to Nelspruit on Friday afternoon for the opening Test against the All Blacks at the Mbombela Stadium a week later.

Springboks' Rugby Championship squad:

Props:

Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks)

Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)

Vincent Koch (Wasps)

Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers)

Ntuthuko Mchunu (Cell C Sharks)

Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks)

Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)

Hookers:

Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers)

Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)

Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks)

Locks:

Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)

Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks)

Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)

Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls)

Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers)

Loose forwards:

Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)

Siya Kolisi (Cell C Sharks)

Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls)

Evan Roos (DHL Stormers)

Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)

Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers)

Duane Vermeulen (Ulster)

Utility forwards:

Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse)

Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers

Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)

Scrumhalves:

Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles)

Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks)

Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers)

Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks)

Flyhalves:

Elton Jantjies (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes)

Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)

Midfielders:

Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks)

Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)

Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins)

Jesse Kriel (Cannon Eagles)

Outside Backs:

Warrick Gelant (Racing 92)

Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz)

Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks)

Utility Backs:

Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)

Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs)

Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)