A sales pitch and first impressions: How Sacha Mngomezulu made Springbok tour roster

The inclusion of Sacha Mngomezulu in the squad for the Springboks' year-end tour was a combination of what appears to be a sales pitch by his Junior Springbok coach and the 20-year-old's own first impression with the national team coaches.

A squad of 54 players was named by SA Rugby top brass on Friday and will see the players split between Springbok and SA A duties.

The curious case of Mngomezulu lies in him having been a late call-up to a Stellenbosch training camp this week and, unnecessary commentary by England head coach Eddie Jones, who, a fortnight ago set the cat amongst the pigeons in reportedly having a keen interest in him.

Jones unsettling the conversation around Mngomezulu is because the Junior Springbok captain is in possession of a British passport, but Mngomezulu himself has long held that his desires lie in being a Springbok, recently telling eNCA that "my favourite colour is green now".

The world champions begin their tour with a clash against Ireland next week Saturday. The fixture roster also has mouthwatering clashes against France, Italy and England with two midweek SA A games cushioned in the schedule.

Speaking after the announcement, head coach Jacques Nienaber waxed lyrical about the Stormers star.

Springboks

Props: Thomas du Toit (Sharks), Steven Kitshoff (Stormers), Vincent Koch (Stade Francais), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Ox Nche (Sharks), Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)

Hookers: Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks)

Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Jason Jenkins (Leinster), Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie (both Stormers)

Loose forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Evan Roos (Stormers), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van