Rassie Erasmus has retained the bulk of the squad that claimed a famous win over the All Blacks in Wellington, naming 33 players for the Springboks’ final two Rugby Championship Tests against Argentina.
The Boks will assemble in Durban on Thursday to prepare for their Kings Park clash with Los Pumas on 27 September, before travelling to London for the competition finale at Twickenham on 4 October.
Injuries have ruled out Lood de Jager, Jean-Luc du Preez and Aphelele Fassi, while Gerhard Steenekamp, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat and Kurt-Lee Arendse remain sidelined.
Veteran fullback Willie le Roux, who started in Auckland, is the notable omission.
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“This group of players have been together for over 13 weeks now, and they’ve shown that they are the right players for this big task against the Pumas,” said Erasmus.
“We’ve chopped and changed our squad a fair bit this season, playing a total of 46 players in our last eight matches, including in the Barbarians match, and by training together almost daily, we are confident that these are the players who can give us the best shot to try to retain the title.”
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Erasmus added that the Boks’ depth and versatility would be crucial against a confident Pumas outfit.
“We are blessed with talent in South Africa, so as sad as we are for players such as Lood, Jean-Luc, Aphelele, Kurt-Lee, and many others, we have capable guys to fill their boots,” he said.
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“The Pumas are a tough and physical outfit, and they’ll come to South Africa full of confidence after beating Australia last weekend and knowing that they beat us in Santiago Del Estero last year, as well as the All Blacks earlier in the competition.”
Springbok squad:
Forwards – Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese.
Backs – Damian de Allende, Faf de Klerk, Andre Esterhuizen, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Canan Moodie, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Damian Willemse, Grant Williams.
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𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus names his Springbok squad for #TheRugbyChampionship matches against Argentina
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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 17, 2025
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
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