Young prospects included with tried-and-tested World Cup winners for last four Tests of the season

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Wednesday named six uncapped players in a 37-man squad for the second leg of the Nations Championship in November.

Yaqeen Ahmed, Sebastian de Klerk, Luan Giliomee, Markus Muller, Riley Norton and Emmanuel Tshituka all earned their first national call-ups for South Africa’s last four Tests of the season.

All six players have been involved in the Springbok setup before. Ahmed, Giliomee, Muller and Tshituka represented the South Africa “A” team against Zimbabwe. Former Junior Springbok captain Norton played for the Boks against the Barbarians in the opening matches of this season. De Klerk attended the national alignment camp last season.

They will feature alongside a settled group of players, including captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende, who have all played for the Boks this season, in which the team finished at the top of the table in the Nations Championship Southern Series in July with victories against England, Scotland and Wales.

South Africa were then crowned inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry champions against the All Blacks, with some of the players also featuring in the Test matches against Argentina and Australia.

Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth, André Esterhuizen and Handré Pollard have been ruled out with injuries.

Erasmus was delighted to welcome the talented young players to the group and said their performances and promise shown in the past two seasons were major factors in their selection.

“We’ve had all six players on our radar for a while now, and they’ve delivered consistently for their respective franchises in the past two seasons, so they thoroughly deserve their call-ups,” the coach said.

“We’ve seen what most of them are capable of firsthand in our season-opening matches and at our training camps, so we are delighted to see what they have to offer on this tour.

“Building squad depth has always been one of our key pillars as a team, and all those players have shown they have what it takes to compete at top franchise level. Riley, Luan and Yaqeen were also part of Junior Springbok squads that have won the Junior World Championship, and Luan also played for the Blitzboks, so they know what it takes to perform at top level.

“There is no doubt facing some of the top teams in elite international rugby will be a completely different challenge, but we have full faith in them to do their best on tour.”

On the injured players omitted from the squad, Erasmus said: “It’s always sad to lose players of that calibre, but we are pleased with the cover we have in those positions, and it also offers other players the opportunity to put up their hands.

“The majority of the players in this group have been with us for most of the season and know what our expectations are and also what to anticipate at this level, so we are excited about the group we’ve selected for this vital leg of the season.”

The Springboks lead the Southern Hemisphere standings in the Nations Championship on points difference. They are level on 15 points with New Zealand. South Africa line up against Italy on November 7, France on November 13 and Ireland on November 21 before the Finals Weekend in London on November 27 to 29.

South Africa will assemble in Italy in different groups on Sunday and Monday.