• Welcome to the forums of Green & Gold Rugby.
    We have recently made some changes to the amount of discussions boards on the forum.
    Over the coming months we will continue to make more changes to make the forum more user friendly for all to use.
    Thanks, Admin.

Rugby Championship 2025: South Africa v Australia

Slim 293

Slim 293

George Smith (75)
I would be surprised to see any unforced changes after last week with Valetini coming in the only exception...

Having said that, might want to freshen things up for the second match depending how things play out.
 
Last edited:
KOB1987

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
Wilson said:
Flook over Daugunu is not a change from the squad at the end of the Lions, but he was effectively an injury replacement for a concussed Daugunu so it's sort of a dropping (but also a bit of a balance shift in the squad).
Click to expand...
I did miss that one and Filipo is not listed as injured so I’d say he’s been dropped
 
Blue

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
Anyway stab at the Bok Team based on noises from journos:

Nche, Marx, Louw
Etsebeth, Nortje
Kolisi, JL du Preez, PS du Toit

Grant Williams, Libbok

De Allende, Kriel

Cheslin, Arendse, Fassi

Bench:
JH Wessels, vd Merwe, du Toit, De Jager, Cobus Wiese, Kwagga, Reinach, Pollard
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

David Wilson (68)
Blue, which young Springboks should we watch out for? I don't know many/any who've debuted since your Super-exile. Except for that Sacha kid. Though looking at that 23 they all seem to be Springbok classics already. Don't recognise the two bench props.
 
KOB1987

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
I’d say that comes down to that announcement during the week that they will favor the local player in a 50/50 situation. Yeah, he’s signed with a local franchise but don’t want him to waltz straight back into the wallabies from overseas. EOYT might be his calling
 
Blue

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
Dctarget said:
Blue, which young Springboks should we watch out for? I don't know many/any who've debuted since your Super-exile. Except for that Sacha kid. Though looking at that 23 they all seem to be Springbok classics already. Don't recognise the two bench props.
Click to expand...
I doubt we will see too many of them in the first test, but with Rassie you never know.

As for the bench front row:

Thomas du Toit - plays both sides. Players player in the Premiership (plays for Bath)
vd Merwe - Hooker who plays for Cardiff. Very good player. Was their standout. Big unit, great over the ball. Marx mark 2.
Jan Hendrik Wessels - LH / Hooker hybrid type. Freak of an athlete. Equally comfortable in both positions. Future starting hooker.

There are a crapload of injuries to the younger guys. Most notably Cameron Hanekom, the bulls 8. Real pity. He would likely have started. Big body, pace of a back. Pierre Spies type but with balls of a forward and can play openside as well.

Then of course Sasha F Mgomezulu at ten. Absolute gem of a talent and the future. They are managing him carefully. HE will feature against the ABs I reckon. Seems a little injury prone.

Biggest find last year was Nortje, Bulls skipper at 5. Lock / blindside hybrid type. Leads tackle count in almost every game he plays. Mentored by Matfield so lineout skills are top notch. 70+ test Springbok no doubt.

The most exciting player I have seen in a long time is the under 21s half back - Haashim Pead. Remember that name. I will not be surprised to see him feature off the bench soon. Three of the baby boks are in the senior squad as "extras" to learn. We are spoilt at 9 with Grant Williams finally living up to his potential. He just seems to get better and better. I would say he is our best all round 9 since Fourie du Preez.

Other than that the rest of the squad have all been around for a while. I think this year is the last for some of the stalwarts like Mbonambi, Koch, Mapimpi and Kleyn.

And of course Asenathi at TH. Spent a lot of time with scrum coach Daan Human on his farm. Shed 15 kgs (150 to 135). A beast who can move. Frightening human being. Played 10 at school haha.
www.instagram.com

LineBreak SA Rugby News on Instagram: "“In Asenathi we’ve got somebody who we see has an unbelievable touch and feel for the game.” - Springbok Coach Rassie Erasmus . . . . . . . @bokrugby @officialspringboks @nikeza_ @pumasportstyle @pumaso

8,993 likes, 119 comments - linebreak_sarugbynews on June 24, 2025: "“In Asenathi we’ve got somebody who we see has an unbelievable touch and feel for the game.” - Springbok Coach Rassie Erasmus . . . . . . . @bokrugby @officialspringboks @nikeza_ @pumasportstyle @pumasouthafrica...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
We will see him off the bench at some point.

Last thing to mention is that Andre Esterhuizen (centre) has been training all season with the forwards. Rassie speak of him as a hybrid player who can play centre and on the blind side / 8. Sounds nuts but has the body and likes to mix it up. SA got a red card against Georgia 20 minutes in and he ended up on the blindside for an hour and looked very comfortable. That makes him a very valuable bench player.
 
Last edited:
Tomthumb

Tomthumb

Peter Johnson (47)
Has Lonergan even made many squads? Outside of the Eddie Jones year, he was always the number 4 Halfback and not in the squad. Crazy to think Darby Lancaster has more caps than both of them combined
 
Sully

Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Blue said:
Here's the summary:
Everybody.
Click to expand...
1754550257499.gif
 
The_Brown_Hornet

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
Blue said:
Anyway stab at the Bok Team based on noises from journos:

Nche, Marx, Louw
Etsebeth, Nortje
Kolisi, JL du Preez, PS du Toit

Grant Williams, Libbok

De Allende, Kriel

Cheslin, Arendse, Fassi

Bench:
JH Wessels, vd Merwe, du Toit, De Jager, Cobus Wiese, Kwagga, Reinach, Pollard
Click to expand...

Formidable
 
Blue

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
And I for one would still prefer four teams back in Super Rugby but that is just not going to happen. The URC is not nearly as exciting. There are some good games and teams like Leinster and Glasgow away are tough games. Just not the same. The money will talk. SA Rugby is doing well with the URC / European Cup deal,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top