Springboks Rugby Championship

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made two changes to his starting team for their Rugby Championship match against Australia in Adelaide. Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Springboks: SEVEN players to be cut before Rugby World Cup!

Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks will be sending home several players. We take a look at the list of player who are likely to be dropped.

Springboks Rugby Championship

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made two changes to his starting team for their Rugby Championship match against Australia in Adelaide. Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks will be sending home several players. We take a look at the list of player who are likely to be dropped.

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Nienaber recently named his 33-man Springboks training squad for The Rugby Championship.

However, it excluded several top stars who were unavailable for selection due to club obligations. At least five of these players are expected to be added to the Bok squad while Frans Steyn and Salmaan Moerat did not make the squad due to injury.

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SEVEN SPRINGBOKS WHO COULD BE SENT HOME

Handre Pollard, Cheslin Kolbe, Jasper Wiese, Vincent Koch and Trevor Nyakane are expected to be added to the Boks squad in coming weeks.

In fact, Pollard and Wiese should be on their way to the Bok training camp if they aren’t there already. This is because the Gallagher Premiership final ended over a week ago on 27 May 2023.

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Springbok players gather around coach Jacques Nienaber Photo Supplied
Springboks players gather around coach Jacques Nienaber Photo: Supplied via SA Rugby website.

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Meaning, the squad count will increase from 33 players to 36. This is before the likely arrivals of Koch and Nyakane.

So, Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus will be sitting with a training squad of 38. This number could grow to 40 if both Steyn and Moerat are selected when they recover from their respective injuries. Nienaber can only select 33 players to take to the Rugby World Cup in France.

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PLAYERS COULD MISS THE RUGBY WORLD CUP

In the front row, it is a case of if Boks management opt for five or six probs. If they opt for five than either Thomas du Toit or Nyakane could miss out.

Furthermore, locks Marvin Orie and Salmaan Moerat could both miss out if RG Snyman remains fit and can prove his worth in the green and gold during the Rugby Championship. A look at the loose forwards makes for interesting reading with Evan Roos and Marco van Staden likely to battle for the final loose forward berth.

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At scrumhalf Nienaber is spoilt for choice with Faf de Klerk, Grant Williams, Jaden Hendrikse, Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies all selected in the Bok squad. Unfortunately, their is only space for three so Williams, Hendrikse, Reinach and Jantjies are set to battle it out for two spots.

As things stand (based on form) Hendrikse would miss out to Williams while Reinach is slightly leading the race ahead of Stormers scrumhalf Jantjies. However, we have a whole Rugby Championship for these men to battle it out. Finally, one of the Steyn (Frans) or Moodie could miss out but he is currently occupying Kolbe’s position in the side so he could be dropped too.

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