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Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ training squad ahead of the Nations Championship, here is our take on the key winners and losers.
Winners
After featuring for the Springboks against the Barbarians, the talented lock has made a strong start to the season with the Stormers and earned a place in the Springboks squad. Norton is one of the youngsters Erasmus has selected as South Africa look to the future in the northern leg of the Nations Championship.
Another 20-year-old in the squad, with it being somewhat of a theme throughout South Africa’s selection. Ahmed was magnificent in the age-grade side’s World Rugby U20 Championship retention as he showed his all-round quality in that tournament. He has all the fly-half qualities you need to succeed at the top level, but he also puts his body on the line without the ball, which is also a major plus for the world champions.
Probably the most experienced of the four freakish young talents, but that isn’t saying much. Needless to say, he is an exceptional talent, just like the other three, with Giliomee capable of playing at either 10 or 15. Played a couple of games for the Sharks last season and has built on that at the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
Real hype surrounds the centre, who only turned 19 in July. Perhaps didn’t have the best World Rugby U20 Championship, but there is no doubting his raw talent and he was handed a start in the Stormers clash against the Scarlets on Saturday, where he didn’t look out of place. It is some rise, who could become the youngster Springbok ever.
A slightly surprising recall for the lock, who has his detractors in South Africa. Regarded as an excellent leader and good lineout option, but he needs to do more if he is to get himself in contention for the Rugby World Cup. He has been selected ahead of the likes of Cobus Wiese so he needs to prove his worth to the Boks and Erasmus.
His brother Vincent has been given an opportunity previously and now it’s Manny’s time. He has been a key part of the Sharks squad for the past few years but Tshituka has really stepped it up at the start of this season and deserves his call-up into the main squad.
Great to see the wing back after injury ruined his chances of making the Springboks squad for the southern leg of the Nations Championship. De Klerk has been in fine form at the start of this season and will hopefully get an opportunity to make his Test debut in November.
There are, of course, a few surprises from the maverick head coach, but the core of the squad remains, which has enabled him to bring in some younger players as he looks towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup and beyond. It is an exceptional group of players, and it will be interesting to see if any of the age-grade quartet get some game time over the next month.
Losers
They have lost four key players for the Nations Championship with three of those, Cheslin Kolbe, Andre Esterhuizen and Eben Etzebeth, always likely to be involved in the 23 for the big games. The Boks obviously have plenty of cover but losing players of the calibre of Kolbe and Etzebeth could hit them hard up north. On the other hand, it also provides Erasmus with a chance to build some depth.
While some recent U20 stars have got a call-up, not all have been selected for the upcoming games. Vusi Moyo, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Ethan Adams and Jaco Williams and Cheswill Jooste could all feasibly have been involved, but the Boks are ultimately looking elsewhere in November. However, their time will come.
Hooker remains the big concern and, in truth, Erasmus is struggling to find solutions to it. At the moment, it is a case of hope and pray in regards to that position, with Malcolm Marx having to remain fit or else they are in trouble.
We have been constantly impressed by Grobbelaar in a Bulls shirt but the Boks coaches have been reluctant to give him too much game time at Test level and now he has been dropped from the squad altogether.
Venter is another option who has played for the Boks this year but they have effectively opted for just one out-and-out hooker in the Nations Championship squad. Jan-Hendrik Wessels obviously plays that role but has also had plenty of time at loosehead, while Marco van Staden can cover in the front-row, but it is not an ideal scenario for Erasmus and South Africa.
We have already mentioned his name given that Moerat has surprisingly been chosen ahead of the big lock. Wiese did well in the July Nations Championship and has also played in two other Tests in 2026, but he has evidently dropped down the pecking order.
A player who was generally seen as someone who could be a key player at the 2027 Rugby World Cup at one stage, but he has still not quite returned to his best after his career-threatening injury. It is probably the right decision to leave him at the Bulls, where Louw quite simply needs to focus on getting his form back at club level before he can think of a Springboks recall.
Similar to Louw in that many thought he could become a key cog in the 23 but Dixon has yet to reach the heights they expected of him and he has been left at the Stormers to focus on his recovery from injury. He has not featured in the URC or Champions Cup so far this season and needs to find his form.
Has never let the Boks down whenever he’s been given a chance but Venter is a victim of the Boks’ loosehead depth. Ox Nche and Gerhard Steenekamp are two world-class scrummagers while Ntuthuko Mchunu deserves his opportunity and both Thomas du Toit and Wessels can cover there if needed.
His display for the Stormers against the All Blacks earned him a recall to the Boks squad for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry and he appeared in three Tests, but Fourie, who can play either hooker or back-row, has been dropped for the Nations Championship. At the age of 40, it is perhaps not a surprise but in performance terms he does not appear to be slowing down and can probably feel slightly unfortunate.
It is competitive at scrum-half for the Boks and these two are the unfortunate ones to miss out. For Papier, who earned his first cap in eight years in July, injury has come at the wrong time despite recently returning to action, playing 30 minutes in the Champions Cup.
Jantjies, meanwhile, has been cut with Erasmus opting for three, rather than four, scrum-halves for the November series, with Morne van den Berg, Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams competing for the spots in the 23.
After being thrown in at fly-half against the Barbarians, it has just not quite gone Horn’s way since then. There is obvious talent and he could feasibly be a 10/15 option going forward as Erasmus has suggested, but he hasn’t pulled up any trees in the games that he has featured for the Boks.
As previously mentioned, Vincent has been the Tshituka who has been closer to the South Africa 23 and he played a full 80 minutes against Italy in 2025, impressing in the process, but he has not had much game time so far this season and has been overtaken by his brother in the club and international pecking order.
Another lock that misses out despite a fine start to the campaign for English side Gloucester. With Etzebeth out and Wiese not selected, Kleyn would have been the ideal tighthead lock but Erasmus has generally gone for more athletic second-rows.
Continues to excel for the Lions but it is still not enough to earn Test recognition with Jesse Kriel and Canan Moodie the two main options for the 13 jersey, while Ethan Hooker and youngster Muller can also feature in that slot. Van Wyk just needs to take his game to the next level if he is to convince the head coach.
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