Uncapped players unlikely to debut for Springboks this November
· The South African
At the end of October, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named six uncapped players in a 37-man squad for the second leg of the Nations Championship in November.
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Unfortunately, young flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed spent only a week with the team before having to head home for scans on a shoulder injury.
That’s left Sebastian de Klerk, Luan Giliomee, Markus Muller, Riley Norton and Emmanuel Tshituka on tour with the Springboks, but Erasmus opted against handing out any debuts for last weekend’s Test against 11th-ranked Italy.
In explaining the decision to not expose any of the uncapped youngsters in the one match where perhaps there was an opportunity to do so in Italy, Erasmus indicated there was a careful balancing act to manage.
“They are all excited about the tour ahead, so we’ll expose them to our structures this week and monitor how they progress and hopefully we’ll be able to give them a chance to show what they can do at this level against top opposition in the next few weeks.
“They are special players, who all bring something different to the team, and we have full faith in their talent and skillsets.”
Internal exposure the priority for Springboks
Understandably, the Springboks will again field the strongest possible team against France this Friday, and then another stern challenge lies in store against third-ranked Ireland next weekend.
That will be followed by the finals weekend, and with the Springboks aiming to add the Nations Championship silverware to a packed trophy cabinet, it does seem unlikely that any Test debuts will be handed out this November.
Instead, the uncapped players will have the golden opportunity to train with the squad, and gain a full understanding of the team system, levels required and what it will take to knock down the door to a Test debut.
Remaining Nations Championship fixtures
Round 5
Friday, 13 November
- 22:10: France vs South Africa, Stade de France, Paris
Saturday, 14 November
- 13:40: Italy vs Argentina, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
- 16:10: Wales vs New Zealand, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- 18:40: England vs Japan, Twickenham, London
- 22:10: Ireland vs Fiji, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Sunday, 15 November
- 17:10: Scotland vs Australia, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Round 6
Saturday, 21 November
- 16:10: Scotland vs Japan, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
- 16:10: England vs New Zealand, Twickenham, London
- 18:40: Ireland vs South Africa, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
- 18:40: Italy vs Fiji, Stadio Friuli, Udine
- 22:10: Wales vs Australia, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- 22:10: France vs Argentina, Stade de France, Paris
Finals Weekend (Twickenham, London)
Friday, 27 November
- 18:40: Northern 6th vs Southern 6th
- 22:10: Northern 5th vs Southern 5th
Saturday, 28 November
- 15:10: Northern 4th vs Southern 4th
- 18:40: Northern 3rd vs Southern 3rd
Sunday, 29 November
- 15:10: Northern 2nd vs Southern 2nd
- 18:40: Northern 1st vs Southern 1st