Rassie Erasmus announced a massive 54-man Springbok squad for 2025, including 9 uncapped players.
0:00 Intro
0:45 Tests
2:06 Props
Thomas du Toit (Bath)
Neethling Fouche (DHL Stormers)
Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
Ntuthuko Mchunu (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Emirates Lions)
Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls)
4:44 Hookers
Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)
Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets)
Utility forwards
Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls)
6:24 Locks
Lood de Jager (Wild Knights)
Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Jean Kleyn (Munster)
Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers)
Franco Mostert (Honda Heat)
Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls)
RG Snyman (Leinster)
Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls)
7:50 Loose forwards
Juarno Augustus (Northampton Saints)
Renzo du Plessis (Emirates Lions)
Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz)
Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls)
Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs)
Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls)
Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)
10:54 Scrumhalves
Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles)
Jaden Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Cobus Reinach (Montpellier)
Morne van den Berg (Emirates Lions)
Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
11:38 Flyhalves
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
Jordan Hendrikse (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers)
Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers)
12:43 Midfielders
Lukhanyo Am (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Damian de Allende (Wild Knights)
Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles)
15:08 Wingers
Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls)
Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath)
Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Ntokozo Makhaza (UCT)
Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls)
Edwill van der Merwe (Emirates Lions)
16:30 Fullbacks
Aphelele Fassi (Hollywoodbets Sharks)
Quan Horn (Emirates Lions)
Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls)
Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers)
17:17 Injured
Elrigh Louw
Deon Fourie
Trevor Nyakane
Ben-Jason Dixon
Frans Malherbe
17:52 Missing out
Johan Grobbelaar
Evan Roos
Sebastian de Klerk
Phepsi Buthelezi
Joseph Dweba
Andre Hugo Venter
Ruan Venter
Celimpilo Gumede
Akker van der Merwe
JF van Heerden
Jurenzo Julius
Suleiman Hartzenberg
Henco van Wyk
David Kriel
Embrose Papier
Francke Horn
19:44 Wishing the Boks well
hi there welcome to Ford Pass where I discuss sports from a fan’s point of view and focusing mainly on South African and Southern African sport and today I’m talking about the spring box squad 54man squad that Russia Rashman Rasmus announced and uh let’s have a look at um the squad and bit around it and the players in the squad now obviously the squad is forms a pool of players with a size of 54 players it forms a pool of players for the rest of the year um it includes the midyear tests um and then moving into the rugby championships and the end of year tours to the northern hemisphere um starting off with the midyear tours we have the Barbarians which is not a test it’s not an official test so the players won’t be kept for that but then we have the two tests against Italy and a test against Georgia um obviously over time the the squad will change a bit um as some of the injured players current injured players come back or as there are injuries during the tests over the next few months um so there will be some changes but one can see this as a pool of players and unfortunately some guys have been left out of this pool some guys that weren’t expected to be in it and and one or two players maybe surprise picks there aren’t many of them they eight new new caps or uncapped players that have been selected and we’ll talk about them a bit later if we talk about the props um obviously Steven Kov has retired um due to his neck injury and then but Spencer he’s out injured and depending on his injury I’m not sure how how serious it is and how long he’s out but whether he’ll be be coming back into the squad at some point um one will have to see fortunately we still on on the Lucet side we have Oxen Chair that’s very experienced and very good he’s really made a name for himself um in the in the rugby community worldwide then we have two experienced titets in Vincent Cork and Thomas Toy thomas Toy has been playing very good rugby um in England um so th those people will form the probable start starting group a part of the starting or the match 23 group then one will have to see where where the rest comes in and you have Vulca low on 16 caps um on the tight tight side and then you have Katiana camp on the lucid side that we call it your mid experienced players players between 10 and 40 caps um as mid experience then you obviously have Munu at three caps as the inexperienced international and that brings us to the two uncapped players Netl Fier who is in his 30s already but he’s been knocking on the door for a long time and his fans have looked for him to be included in a box squad for a long time and he seriously is one of the best tight heads in the country um um bringing us down to the the youngster of the group in in in in Asenati and Slavakany from the Lions um he’s faced a lot of criticism from from some fans because of his body shape but he’s proved himself to be skillful he’s fit he um his fieldwork is very good his scrimmaging is very good so I I look forward to seeing the two new props getting their opportunities and how they step up into um the international game uh moving on to the hookers we have our stall with and Malcolm Mars and Bong Bambi they’ve been there for a long time they worked in tandem starting and bench and it doesn’t really matter which one starts and which one goes on the bench they they’ve served South Africa well up to now um then we have Yan Bess Hendrick Vessels he’s he’s a utility as a utility for because he can play prop as well he’s prop and hookah so he’s backup and then the surprise maybe is minus fun from originally from the cheaters but now playing for Scarlet in Wales um he’s had a very good URC he’s in the USC team of the year um so he’s been very good and the other surprise would be those who have been left out you know people like Yan Kla Marva um Andre Huente and uh maybe Joseph Dva although he hasn’t really performed as well as one would hope he would so yeah so so that’s where we stand with the hookers um we’ll have a see how Man steps up into the Spring Milk game um and uh let’s see what happens whether some of those that have been left out do get a chance over the the rest of the year moving on to locks again we have massive experience amongst the locks we have Gibbon Ets on 131 caps um Franco Mosed on 78 caps Lura on 66 caps i just hope he stays injuryfree and then we have Arus Neon on 40 caps so very experienced sets of locks that are then backed up by some inexperienced in terms of international caps in Salman Murat with 10 Zan Clay and Ruan Noria and the only new uncapped player coming in is Quus Visu who’s been again the fans is his fans have asked for his inclusion for a long time already um so it’s not a surprise to see him in the squad it’s not a you know it’s not unexpected to see him eventually getting his chance so but nothing nothing new here we’ve seen most of these guys in the box cap and yeah we’ll take it from from there moving to the loose forwards now um we have again a lot of the old names is still there you know you have Sakisi on 92 caps um Peter Steph on 86 and then down to Yasper Bisa and and Maren Qua Smith all of them quite experienced within the international setup and within our team jean Luke Deproy makes a welcome return again um he’s been in and out of the box groups over the last number of years and maybe at some point he’ll settle a bit more then we have the three new or uncapped players uh let’s first talk Vincent Chuka he he was in the mix a couple of years ago but then he struggled to get his passport sorted out or his citizenship rather sorted out um especially during the co lockdowns and so on but he has eventually got his citizenship and he makes a welldeserved um entrance into the bo group um he troy as is affectionately known he’s been touted as a boach when he was still a junior at the Stormers and the Western Province so um yeah then then he went went to England and he he faded a bit from from the discussions but he’s back in it and he’s had a again a good season with Saints uh so his call up is not unexpected but obviously it’s at the expense of some others um someone like Evan Rus that has been left out and Frankie Horn of the Lions that’s also not seen as as being in the running at the moment lorenzo Diplier is a bit of a surprise he’s been last year he had was in the training groups last year as well um where and the surprise is really because he struggles to get regular game time at the Lions where where JC Purus is favored um and maybe JC Pritorius can feel a bit agrieved because um he’s not in the the box group um rather than Renza Dipl but Renza Dipl when he played he played some some decent games and he’s uh you know he’s he can be a surprise package along the Smith lines so let’s give him his chance and see how it goes if if he gets some game time um now moving to the scrum offs the scrums we have are normal there’s they’re really no surprise they’ve all been involved in a in a with a box over last year and some years before um so we have fuff back if Quibbus Rhina who’s been a good backup player scrum off for the box Jayen Hendricks and Grant Williams from Sharks those two are almost automatic picks nowadays and then more Nathan B getting his opportunities again and we’ll see how many caps he gets this time around now moving to flyoffs again no no surprise all of them were involved last year andre Pollard being the go-to guy in in the box team many Lebok in there but because of his kicking wos um not a safe spot as a backup and that’s why they have Jordan Hendricks in there and Sasha Fineberg Zulu as well and there’s a good chance that Sasha will um with his talent can can and settle himself self as the go-to backup fly off um with the with Jordan and Mani swapping swapping spots uh in in terms of when they race one of the others two flyoffs moving over to the midfield the centers um Damian Dende Jesse Krill they’ve settled into their positions um they well they just automatic picks and then Andre as a backup for for Damian um he’s been in and out a bit uh but again gets an opportunity to to cement his position in the broader squad lana um he used to be first choice has fallen back after some injuries and so and loss of form um but he he’s still there and um so he’ll be the main backup for Jesse Krill but I’m so glad to see Ethan Lucer in here I’ve from the first time I saw him him play for the Sharks I said this is a guy that can do it He’s he’s got speed he’s got a good step on him he’s strong um he’s got good hands as well um so I think it it’s just fantastic and I hope he gets decent enough chances in playing this game or these tests coming up um it’s bad luck for guys like Enkla Fanv not to get a call up maybe because there might be an issue with Renu because it seems to be a bit in and out of with injury um played a couple of games and he’s injured and out a couple of games and so on and and maybe not the ideal for currently for Russy to to select him uh Jenza Julius of the Sharks also very good number 13 very strong but he’ll have to work on his hands he’s he’s just not good enough um at holding on to a ball and he needs to work on that probably to to have a real chance of getting into the box team moving then to to the wingers um for the most part no surprises got to arran Moody they they’ve been the go-to guys up to now edwolf and Mara has had some uh um exposure he only has one cap but I think he was he was in the squad and then he got injured and was out again but the big surprise here is to cause Macaza with this winger from UC who’s been playing some great rugby in the cup um with the added bonus that he’s a very good goal kicker as well uh he’s short he’s shorter than Chisan Goldby but weighs a little bit more so he’s quite stocky um and from the from the highlight reels and from Cup he’s a strong runner with a good step um so yeah I we can just hope that he has some decent game time in the first place and then steps up because it’s a big step up from Cup into International Rugby depending on which games he gets involved with let’s have a look then at the fullbacks fullbacks no surprises once again juan Horn is there are there as backups to VU and Damian Villima um so yeah no surprises they all there and they’ll just build their caps a bit and get various opportunities over time um especially when you take the Damian Villims that can slot in at fly and center um Guanorn can slot in at wing and the same with a fussy so all those um they the normal guys nobody no surprises um looking at the injured players who weren’t selected is Elri Ro Dion Furi Treven Yakani Benj Dixon and France Malba they all out injured i don’t know how long and whether any of them will come back into the squad this year still but uh yeah that’s part of the game maybe looking at some guys who were um left out who were in the in the in in the training alignment camps um but eventually didn’t make the massive 54man um squad Pepsi Blesi they probably can feel a bit unlucky Sebastian the cl was always just the outside chance um and I don’t see [Music] him having had a chance ahead of Ethanuka anyway joseph Dweber as I said I I don’t think he’s he’s his lineup work is just not there so maybe that’s why he’s still out on the out of favor fent Ruan Fenta I would have expected to get a chance but we’ve got so many settled loose forwards that it’s very difficult to get another one in uh same with Gdi um trying to get him in uh you know unfortunately some of these guys will just have to wait a maybe a bit but unlucky he’s been playing some good rugby um but yeah he went um Russy went with minus and then you have guys like Jeffan Lorenzo Julius Nutenber David Kel Embro Frankie Horn those are all guys that won’t struggle to fit in with the box team and will all serve the block team well uh but there’s just not enough space you know going for a 70man squad was probably not an option for Russi um not this year anyway anyway I hope you enjoyed the video and um please comment on your selection what you would have done where you unhappy where you happy etc etc um and uh Let’s hope the boxer have a great year and in both in the winter tours or winter tests as well as in the rugby championship and the end of year tours you know a lot of test rugby to look forward to for the rest of the year and uh if you like the the video please like and subscribe and uh we’ll talk again some other
