Springboks approaching Barbarians game ‘like a normal Test match’, says Esterhuizen
· Citizen
Despite it being a non-Test against the famed invitational Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday (kick-off 3pm), the Springboks are approaching the match like it is an official Test, according to hybrid star André Esterhuizen.
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It is the season opener for the Boks but they are missing their Bulls players, as well as most of the men who play in the UK and Europe. The first official squad for the start of the Nations Championship, which gets underway on July 4, is to be named on Sunday.
However, Bok boss Rassie Erasmus is using the current training squad, which features 24 uncapped players and 10 rising Junior Springbok talents, as an important build-up to the 2026 international campaign.
An SA A team will also be in action on Saturday (12pm), against Zimbabwe, allowing Erasmus to see more of this country’s next generation in action.
Crucially, a number of Japan-based plyers, as well as the Sharks men who haven’t played in some time, will get game time this weekend, while Erasmus and Co have opted to “protect” certain players, such as Damian Willemse, Damian de Allende, Manie Libbok, Malcolm Marx and Lood de Jager. Eben Etzebeth has also been overlooked to play this weekend.
All six of those men are expected to be named in Sunday’s squad and should be in line to play against England at Ellis Park on 4 July.
Barbarians match
But first up is the clash against the Barbarians, which will see a number of inexperienced players get a chance to shine, including Lions fullback Quan Horn, who’ll be playing at flyhalf, Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton at lock, as well as prop Carlu Sadie, hooker Andre-Hugo Venter and wing Edwill van der Merwe.
“We’re very excited for this season to begin, and hopefully we start it off on a high. I think everyone is excited to be in this squad environment. We’re training hard and everything’s been going well,” said Esterhuizen in the build-up to the match.
“We just want to go out there and play our game. I know it is a Barbarians game and everyone looks at it and thinks it can be loose. They might want to make it loose, but we are aiming to stick to our processes like we do in every game.
“For us it is a normal Test match. That’s how we’re going to handle it and go into the game.”
Where the Boks may struggle a bit in the game is their backline replacements on the bench, with them looking incredibly light with just scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and Junior Bok flyhalf Vusi Moyo available, but Esterhuizen said they weren’t worried.
“There is more than enough cover in the squad. We have a lot of players that can play in different positions,” said Esterhuizen.