Springbok rugby returns this weekend as the world champions face the Barbarians.
The adage “Something old, something borrowed, something new” springs to mind as we consider the Springboks lineup for Saturday afternoon’s warm-up match against the Barbarians in Gqeberha, 3pm kick-off.
This match is all about coach Rassie Erasmus ticking preparation boxes ahead of the July 4 Nations Championship opener against England.
Erasmus wants to get up to speed players who are returning from injury (Aphelele Fassi, Grant Williams, and Pieter-Steph du Toit) while shedding rust from Japan returnees (Jesse Kriel, Franco Mostert, Cheslin Kolbe, and Jasper Wiese), and then there is a raft of Sharks players who need to get going after their team was long ago eliminated from the URC in the league stage.
A significant feature of the game is the experimentation, notably the leftfield selection of Quan Horn at flyhalf, and the chance given to Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton in the second row. Horn has never played flyhalf in his life, and Norton is yet to debut for the Stormers.
