Kolisi, Etzebeth back as Erasmus names 26-man Springbok squad for Argentina Test

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a 26-man squad for next weekend’s Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires (Saturday, 8 August).

Bok captain Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and Morne van den Berg all make welcome returns from injury.

SA Rugby said that the squad will travel to South America in two groups on Saturday.

Several other stalwarts, who played a major role in the Boks’ opening four matches of the season – the likes of Cheslin Kolbe, Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, and Ruan Nortje, among others – will stay behind at the team’s training base in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin their preparations for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series against New Zealand.

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“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.”

Looking ahead to the Argentina game, Erasmus added: “Argentina are a quality outfit and we