Kolisi and Etzebeth return as Boks name squad for Argentina Test
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has recalled captain Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg for next week’s Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has included fit-again captain Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, and Morne van den Berg in the squad for the one-off Test against Argentina.
The world champions will take on Los Pumas in Buenos Aires next Saturday.
Erasmus has named a 26-man squad for the tour, which features several players returning from injury and others who have had a lighter workload over the past few weeks.
Several players, who have been involved in the team’s opening four matches of the season, such as Cheslin Kolbe, Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, and Ruan Nortje, among others, will reassemble at the team’s training base in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin their preparations for the series against New Zealand.
“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.
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“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.”
With excitement building ahead of the historic series against the All Blacks, Erasmus warned that Argentina would pose a massive challenge in Buenos Aires.
“They are a well-coached team that have tested us in the last few years, while they have also been competitive in the Nations Championship, so it will be a good test for us as a team.”
